Known by many as 'the world music bible', The Rough Guide to World Music became an instant classic when it first appeared in 1994. Volume 1 (Africa & Middle East) of the third and final edition appeared in 2006 and Volume 2 (Europe, Asia & Pacific) appeared in 2009, since which time this invaluable resource has been out of print - until now!

We are pleased to announce that we are re-publishing The Rough Guide to World Music exclusively on this website. This will be a huge undertaking, and country guides will appear here in instalments over the coming weeks.

Note that the texts are as they appeared when the third edition of the Rough Guide was originally published, although we hope to gradually work on updates. Now the best way to keep up-to-date with new music from around the world is to subscribe to Songlines magazine. 

Select a country below to start exploring The Rough Guide to World Music.

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