Today's program includes conferences, an opening session, and from Tuesday to Thursday, new bands and singers from 12 countries will take the stage at different venues in Plateau, spread across the Palace of Culture, Pedestrian Street, and Luís de Camões Square, for the so-called 'showcases.'

Tuesday’s lineup includes Leroy Pinto (Cape Verde), Roberta Campos (Brazil), Zuleica Barros (Cape Verde), Fattu Djakité (Guinea-Bissau), Isabel Novella (Mozambique), Ary Mar (Cape Verde), Cjey Patronato (Cape Verde), and Sahad (Senegal).

On Wednesday, performers include Yacine Rosa (Cape Verde), Raquel Kurpershoek (Spain), Rumba de Bodas (Italy), Karyna Gomes (Guinea-Bissau), Fábio Ramos (Cape Verde), Eliana Rosa (Cape Verde), Voz Sambou (Canada/Haiti), and Tasuta N-imal (Morocco).

The final day’s lineup features Mariaa Siga (Senegal/France), Taresa Fernandes (Cape Verde), Danças Ocultas (Portugal), Throes + The Shine (Angola), Queency Barbosa (Cape Verde), and Dieg (Cape Verde).

AME has grown beyond borders and, in 2025, has 400 professionals registered to participate in activities that, every April, enliven the capital of Cape Verde with sounds from around the world and launch new artists.

Among national and foreign registrants, including “delegates, journalists, and artists, the number is close to 400 people,” exceeding last year’s count, said Benito Lopes, the event’s director-general, in an interview with Lusa.

“AME is a market, not a festival,” said Benito Lopes, pointing to the event as an increasingly used platform to promote new works.

Brazil is one of the countries most seeking a place at AME, alongside growing interest “from several African countries” looking for encounters that can open doors to new opportunities — and where Europe has been a regular presence since the beginning, thanks to AME’s collaboration with Womex, an international project supporting and developing world music.

“Cape Verdeans have also realized they can take advantage of this platform to internationalize themselves,” he concluded.

AME is organized by Cabo Verde Cultural, a non-profit association, and is supported by the government and private sector, a partnership that has been essential for the event’s dynamism, noted Benito Lopes.

On Thursday, as is customary every year, AME’s final performance precedes the start of the Kriol Jazz Festival, also in central Praia, whose three-day program features highlights such as the Angolan artist Bonga and Gambian musician Sona Jobarteh.