HOMMAGE IN BAOBAB: Guinea and Montreal celebrate Lamine Touré, the father of the Nuits d'Afrique!
Forty years of his rhythms make Montreal dance! In July 2026, for the 40th edition of the International Festival Nuits d'Afrique, Guinea paid a grand tribute to Lamine Touré — the "Baobab des Nuits d'Afrique" — during an exceptional evening at MTELUS. Festival TV was there, the heart beating.
There are men who plant trees that they will never see in the shadows of. And there is Lamine Touré, who planted his own in 1987 at Club Balattou, and who has watched him grow since: Nuits d'Afrique has become the largest festival of African, Caribbean and Latin American music in North America. A baobab, true — rooted in Montreal, the branches open to the whole world.
On July 11, 2026, at MTELUS, a plethora of artists gathered to celebrate his legacy. Guinea, his country, was at the forefront of this tribute: because before being a Montreal festival, Nuits d'Afrique is a history of the diaspora, a story of African sons and daughters who made music a passport and a flag. That evening, it was a whole continent that said thank you.
Behind each major festival, there are builders who must not be forgotten in history. During this 40th edition, Festival TV conducted interviews with Malick Kébé, Managing Director of FODAC, Moussa Mbaye and Thierno Hamidou Bah.
The meeting is already set for the next round: the 41st edition of Nuits d'Afrique will be held from July 6 to 18, 2027. Festival TV will be there, microphone in hand, to continue telling this story — that of a Guinean baobab that has become the emblem of Montreal's summer. Long life at Baobab, long life at Nuits d'Afrique!
— Moïse 1er, the Festival Explorer