The story
Kriol Jazz Festival in Praia
Conceived in 2008 by producer Djo da Silva and launched in 2009 with backing from the Praia municipal government, the Kriol Jazz Festival has grown into a globally recognised platform, reaching its fifteenth edition in 2026 and ranking among the world's top festivals. Organised by Harmonia Lda with Cabo Verde's Ministry of Culture and Creative Industries, it curates music of Creole inspiration from the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, Cabo Verde and Africa, building fusion performances between artists of different Creole traditions.
The Kriol Jazz Festival began with a specific idea from Cape Verdean producer Djo da Silva in 2008: a jazz festival built explicitly around Creole musical identity, one that would foreground African sonorities alongside jazz rather than presenting jazz as an imported, purely American form, and da Silva convinced the Praia municipal government to back the concept, launching the first edition in 2009 to strong enough public response that continuing it was never seriously in question.