Busara entries to beat all records

Dar es Salaam. The 2018 edition of the Sauti Za Busara is almost seven months away and already the applications are flooding with more than 400 groups that have already submitted applications to participate at the 15th edition of Sauti za Busara festival.

According to organisers the selection committee for the festival that is et to take place in February is set to sit in August whereas the deadline for receiving applications has been set for July 31.

With more applications being received before the deadline, forty lucky groups will be selected to participate in the festival next February with some 20 groups representing Tanzania whereas the others are invited from across the African Continent and diaspora.

According to Maryam Hamdani, leader of Zanzibar’s Tausi Women’s Taarab group, the festival brings many benefits for local artists.

“Sauti za Busara festivals are vital to us musicians as well as music lovers. Through the years Busara has managed to promote us and made us stronger and stronger as we get a place to show our abilities. We have learnt a lot from meeting different musicians. We have gained a lot from the various workshops. We gained a lot from the encounters with musicians and journalists from all over the world”. Every year, artists spotted at Sauti za Busara are invited to perform at other festivals around Africa, Europe and beyond. Local musicians seen at the festival in Zanzibar who were then invited to perform internationally include Msafiri Zawose, Jagwa Music, Leo Mkanyia, Jahazi Modern Taarab, Tausi Women’s Taarab, Culture Musical Club, Maulidi ya Homu ya Mtendeni and many more. Interestingly, they all illustrate examples of original music with cultural identity that is unique to East Africa.