These festivals are a hit in Africa
A large audience at the Sauti Za Busara which is one of the hottest entertainment dates on the entertainment calendar
What you need to know:
South Africa’s National Arts Festival has a vast programme of hundreds of events and performances in more than 50 venues and runs for 11 days between late June and early July. Probably the longest-standing arts festival on the continent, it has been running since 1974 and in the past few years has recorded an attendance of over 200 000 people.
From local independent showcases to international corporate-sponsored events, dozens of music festivals take place around Africa throughout the year.
Many are key platforms for the promotion of emerging artists in their regions, while contributing to create audiences for local and international genres and providing the space for cross-cultural exchanges and collaborations.
Festival sur le Niger - Segou, Mali
With the Festival in the Desert on standby since 2012 due to the unstable security situation in northern Mali, the Festival on the Niger has become the country’s most visible music festival internationally.
Taking place since 2005 during the first week of February in the city of Ségou, the festival covers all genres of Malian music, including artists like the ngoni maestro Bassekou Kouyate, takamba group Super Onze de Gao, Tuareg rock band Amanar de Kidal, young rappers like Iba One, and superstars like Salif Keita and Fatoumata Diawara.
Sauti Za Busara – Zanzibar
The Sauti za Busar is an African music festival that is held every year in February in Zanzibar, Tanzania. The main venues of the festival are the Old Fort and the adjacent Forodhani Gardens, in Stone Town, but side events take place in other locations as well. It is a large event with several hundreds of artists participating each year. Besides music live shows, the festival includes several other activities both in Stone Town and in other locations in Zanzibar, such as fashion shows and a carnival parade in the streets of Stone Town. In 2016 the festival did not take place but organisers promise that 2017 will be one of their best.
National Arts Festival - South Africa
South Africa’s National Arts Festival has a vast programme of hundreds of events and performances in more than 50 venues and runs for 11 days between late June and early July. Probably the longest-standing arts festival on the continent, it has been running since 1974 and in the past few years has recorded an attendance of over 200 000 people.
Fes Festival of World, Morocco
For over two decades, the ancient city of Fez has been the home of the World Sacred Music Festival. The former capital of Morocco, now a Unesco World Heritage Site, was for centuries an intellectual and political centre in the region, as well as an essential part of the Trans- Saharan gold trade route. The 14th century Bab al Makina fortress is one of the main venues of the festival, where oud players, Berber singers, Balinese gamelan ensembles, Kurdish music orchestras, dancing dervishes and Sufi poets take centre stage.
Oppikoppi - South Africa
Oppikoppi was born in 1994 and for the past 20 years has been growing to become not only the most popular rock festival in South Africa, but also a yearly event of pilgrimage for a faithful crowd of approximately 20 000 rock fans. During its early years Oppikoppi was a small Afrikaans music festival and soon evolved together with the national rock movement during the late 1990s. These days DJs, jazz and traditional artists are also included in the line-up, but the festival mainly focuses on showcasing local rock bands during a three-day party in the dusty, thorny grounds of a farm in the northern province of Limpopo.
Amani Festival – DR Congo
The first edition of the Amani Festival in Goma, eastern Congo, in 2014, welcomed approximately 25 000 people, and a similar figure came to the festival’s third edition in February 2016. For two decades, the region has been heavily affected by violent conflict, but the city of Goma is also becoming a fertile ground for the development of urban arts and cultural activism, led by organisations such as Yole!Africa and the Foyer Culturel de Goma, which organises Amani Festival.
Africa Nouvea- Kenya
Africa Nouveau is a new addition to the calendar of African music and arts festivals. Its first edition took place in Nairobi on 5 and 6 September 2015, replacing the Blankets and Wine festival, whose team has showcased emerging African artists over six years and 56 editions. Building on this experience, they curated a programme that included collectives engaged in progressive approaches to fashion, food, digital arts, visual installations and, of course, music.
Felabration- Nigeria
Home to almost one fifth of the population of sub-Saharan Africa and one of the most active music industries, Nigeria offers plenty of music festivals and events that cater for a wide range of tastes, from alternative (Afropolitan Vibes) to jazz (Lagos International Jazz Festival), classical (MUSON Music Festival) and of course Afrobeat. Felabration is the most popular and one of the most consistent music festivals in Nigeria. (Music Africa)
During a full week, it celebrates the legacy of Nigeria’s foremost musical icon and political activist, Afrobeat creator Fela Anikulapo Kuti.
Sakifo - Saint-Pierre, Reunion
During three days in early June, Sakifo Musik Festival gathers more than 20 000 festival-goers in the beach of the Ravine Blanche in Saint-Pierre, Reunion Island, for one of the best-known music events in the Indian Ocean. The 12th edition of the festival was celebrated in 2015 with an eclectic programme of more than 50 artists performing on nine different stages. In the past it has been headlined by major international names like Manu Chao and Stromae.
Bayimba - Uganda
In September 2015 the Bayimba International Festival of the Arts celebrated its eighth edition at the National Theatre in Kampala, Uganda. The extensive line-up of more than 100 acts included theatre, comedy, dance, fashion shows, film, arts and photography exhibitions and music.
