Respect Festival, the most significant year-round world music festival in the Czech Republic, presents the program for its 29th edition! Once again, you can look forward to the most diverse mix you won't hear anywhere else, from disappearing traditions to contemporary global fusions, from veterans of the genre to hot newcomers, from infectious dance music to experimental and jazz. The festival will culminate on June 13 and 14 with a two-day open-air show on Štvanice Island. Respect Festival is dedicated to Karel Schwarzenberg, who was there at its inception. František Skála is once again the creator of this year's visuals.
At the Open Air festival on June 13–14 at Štvanice Island, musicians from nearly 20 countries around the world will perform.
The greatest of Africa’s musical individualists and the first truly pan-African artist, Cheikh Lô from Senegal, will present his latest album Maame, which features Czech guitarist Pavel Šmíd, who will also perform in Prague. Cheikh’s music differs significantly from African stereotypes dominated by drums. In his work, impressionistic colors of guitars, brass, and keyboards prevail.
From Tanzania, The Zawose Queens will arrive with breathtaking vocal harmonies, dynamic polyrhythms, and the ringing tones of the ilimba. Their debut album Maisha (2024), released on Peter Gabriel’s Real World label, blends the traditional Wagogo style with subtle electronic production and quickly earned them invitations to the world’s most prestigious festivals, including Glastonbury, WOMAD, and WOMEX. Madagascar will be represented by Bobo & Behaja, who will introduce Prague audiences to the raw, frenetic, trance-like dance style known as tsapiky, which emerged in the late 1970s from the fusion of village traditions and modern African music. Bobo & Behaja are the most prominent tsapiky band of today.
The last living icon of traditional songs from the shores of Lake Victoria, Ogoya Nengo from Kenya, returns to Respect Festival after a long 11 years, this time with the project Odd Okoddo & Ogoya Nengo. Its backbone is Hamburg-based producer, drummer, and electronic wizard Sven Kacirek. His fusion of African rhythms with electronic textures is entirely inventive, natural, and unique within its genre.
Guitari Baro, meaning “Guitar Conversations,” is the name of a trio from Mali and Guinea. Gaoussou Kouyaté plays acoustic guitar, inspired by the desert blues of Ali Farka Touré, while “Petit” Kerfala Diabaté alternates between electric and acoustic guitar, citing Carlos Santana and Richard Bona among his influences. Lassana Diabaté plays the balafon; a member of Trio Da Kali, he has performed with numerous elite ensembles (Salif Keita, Toumani Diabaté, Bassekou Kouyaté, Tiken Jah Fakoly) and has also collaborated with the avant-garde Kronos Quartet.
North Africa is represented by Araw N Fazaz from Morocco, a new face of Amazigh music from the Middle Atlas combining male and female vocals, percussion, the unique Moroccan lute lotar, and European violin; and by the instrumental trio The Handover from Egypt and Belgium, which became a sensation at prestigious festivals last year, including WOMEX. The group develops folk melodies from northern Egypt in combination with psychedelia. The structure of their compositions, built as interconnected chains, is conceptually akin to the Australian group The Necks, though constructed from entirely different material.
Returning to the festival with a new formation, new program, and current album Meydan (2025) is the star of the 26th edition, Meral Polat from the Netherlands. The singer of Kurdish origin has earned critical acclaim for her energetic fusion of Kurdish folk music, raw grooves, minimalist blues arrangements, and, of course, her singing filled with dramatic turns, microtonal shifts, and melodic ornaments typical of Middle Eastern music.
Five centuries of fascinating Indo-Pakistani vocal tradition are represented by Muslim Shaggan from Pakistan. He sings and plays the Indian harmonium, accompanied by tabla player Asher Shezad and flutist Daniyal Ahmed. The line-up concludes with the project of Wassim Halal, Amza Tairov & Gabriel Valtchev from France/Lebanon, North Macedonia, and Bulgaria. After fascinating concerts with Gamelan Puspawarma (2025) and Revolutionary Birds (2021), Wassim Halal returns to Respect for the third time, now with an Arab-Balkan project. By blurring the boundaries between rhythm and melody, synthesizer and percussion, they create a playful sonic illusion in which identities constantly shift — from percussive trance to explosive energy. A polymorphic, highly energetic experience driven by surprise, movement, and collective groove.
As always, there will also be a rich children’s program and refreshments from around the world.
