Planning the tenth edition of the Cordas World Music Festival, known in the Azores as the Cordas Festival, Terry Costa, artistic director, and founder, presented our country’s biggest chordophone celebration at the International Folk Alliance Conference in Montreal, Canada.

“At the same time as we are promoting Portugal, the Azores archipelago, the island of Pico, the municipality of Madalena and the region’s most award-winning cultural project, Festival Cordas, taking part in this world event is a way of learning, getting to know new musical projects and inspiring us to continue building one of the most unique music festivals in the world,” says Terry Costa. “You never miss questions like ‘where are these islands?’ or ‘is there musical culture in the Azores?’ which is a fantastic opportunity to talk to people from other countries about these pearls in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.”

The Folk Alliance International Conference is the largest gathering of folk musicians and music industry professionals. Music is in every corner, hallway, living room, and bedroom of the official program hotel. Icons, legends, rising stars, and industry innovators share experiences that boost their careers. Around 3,000 artists, producers, cultural agents, and companies dedicated to the music sector have gathered in Montreal, Canada, and there are already plans for Folk2026 in New Orleans.

Some of the musicians at Folk2025 have already taken to the stage at the Cordas Festival on the island of Pico. In the spotlight, the Portuguese guitar of Marta Pereira da Costa, multi-instrumentalist Vasco Ribeiro Casais with the project “OMIRI”, Azorean Pedro Lucas, and “O Gajo” were part of the “Why Portugal” program of the Portuguese music export office. “It’s important that this kind of investment continues in order to take Portugal across borders,” admits Terry Costa. “There’s no better way to promote the country to the world today than to invest in the development and promotion of its artists.”
The tenth edition of the Cordas Festival is scheduled for October 1 to 11, 2025, in the municipality of Madalena do Pico. Pre-festival events are planned to promote the celebration of chordophones in other municipalities and islands of the archipelago.

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks the Luso-American Education Foundation for their support.