The 14th Annual Festival Mawazine Rythmes du Monde is a star-studded musical event in Rabat, Morocco - and a young unknown has just landed a much-coveted spot as opening act for Maroon 5.
Ghita, a Moroccan student at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in California, caught the ears of the festival organizers via social media and invited her to submit video as an audition.
“I am a very driven person and I kept pursuing the bigger opportunity until they realized where my ambitions were,” Ghita told the Gnomes National News Service, and she won over Maroon 5’s management to open for them.
Previously a spectator at the festival, and now a performer, Ghita is obviously thrilled at the prospect. “I was in the crowd three years ago to see Kanye West and it blew my mind. I knew I wanted to be on stage but I would never have imagined this,” she said.
“This is by far the biggest opportunity I’ve had. I’ve learned so much already and I feel blessed to be able to open for an international pop star in my own country.” She will be performing her original East-West blend of pop songs along with her fellow Berklee student-band members from Austria, US, Sweden and Colombia.
Ghita and Maroon 5 will be playing on the closing night of the nine-day festival that has attracted one million people in the past. Other headliners include Usher, Avicii, Jennifer Lopez, Sting, Sean Paul, Pharrell Williams, and Usher. World music artists from African and the Middle East, such as Syrian Khalid Hajar and Ghazi El Amir from Lebanon, are also scheduled to perform.
