Cape Town: Postponement of Cape Town International Jazz Festival 2023!

The organisers of the Cape Town International Jazz Festival in Cape Town, espAfrica, have announced that the event scheduled to have taken place on 17 and 18 March 2023, has been postponed by one year. According to espAfrica, several factors have influenced the postponement, including a series of unavoidable delays and unforeseen challenges, as well as uncertainties around the future of load shedding. The 21st edition of the Cape Town International Jazz Festival is now set to take place in Cape Town on 23 and 24 February 2024.
Ticket holders, who have purchased tickets from Ticketmaster may either retain them as espAfrika will honour the cost of these ticket for the 2024 event or obtain a full refund from Ticketmaster. espAfrika added that no monies from ticket sales were passed to them and therefore the refund procedure needs to be done via Ticketmaster and not by espAfrika.

"Red Bull Dubane Connect" - a five song EP that gives you a break from all the negative news!

In search of some non-coronavirus related content we just stumbled across some great young urban music from Durban. In February 2019, twelve young musicians met in the state-of-the-art recording studios of the KZN Music House to make some music. The session saw artists from different genres come together and produce tracks that may otherwise fall outside of their regular sound. The result of this collaboration is a compilation named "Red Bull Dubane Connect". The tracks on this five song EP range from the deep and soulful "Sabela" featuring Nobuhle Khuzwayo, DJ Asante, uBeyond & MusiColours, to the uptempo summertime jam "Do you believe" featuring Garde, DJ LeSoul, Nipho Hurd & Nobuhle Khuzwayo, the bouncy beat of "Sum" featuring DJ LeSoul, Garde, Nipho Hurd & Robin ThirdFloor, the deep house grooves of "Sunrise" featuring Emex, King Bruce & Nipho Hurd and the Gqom flavours of "Kulele" featuring Campmasters, Mnqobi Yazo & Robin ThirdFloor. Put your headphones on and enjoy a 20-minute break from all the kak that is currently going on around us all! Kudos RedBull and all the artists!

Malawi: The "Lake of Stars" is returning to the shores of Lake Malawi!

The famous, award-winning and simply awesome Lake of Stars festival will be returning to the shores of Lake Malawi in 2014. The arts & music festival will take place at the Sunbird Nkopola Lodge from 26 - 28 September 2014. The lodge is located right at Lake Malawi about 20 km north of the town of Mangochi in the southern region of Malawi. 
The Lake of Stars festival features artists from Malawi, Africa and the rest of the world and promotes tourism in Malawi, raises funds for charity and provides travellers and Malawians alike with the opportunity to enjoy incredible live music in an exotic and beautiful location.
In 2012, the organisers of Lake of Stars took a year off to develop new ways to enhance and promote the music, culture and tourism of Malawi, while in 2013 they hosted the "City of Stars" festival in Lilongwe, Malawi, to celebrate their 10th anniversary. Tickets for the Lake of Stars 2014 are already on sale!

Swaziland: Dates of the Bushfire festival 2014 announced!

The 8th edition of Swaziland's biggest collaboration of artists from across the world, the Bushfire festival, will take place from 30 May - 01 June 2014 at the House on Fire in the Malkerns Valley. The three day entertainment experience brings in the tradition and beauty of Swaziland's handicrafts combines it with live music, theatre, poetry, film, circus, dance and visual arts. So far live acts from 8 countries, including the 70’s inspired Bogota based Colombian Salsa artists La 33, Mokoomba from Zimbabwe, Under Kontrol from France, Slovenian legends Red Five Point Star and the Imperial Tiger Orchestra from Switzerland, have been confirmed!
The Bushfire festival was named one the world's top music festivals by MTV and one of the Africa's best art events 2014 by Culture Trip.



Bushfire has a well-deserved reputation for its visionary approach developing the arts whilst promoting social responsibility. 100% of profits made through the festival are donated to two charities in Swaziland: Young Heroes, a child sponsorship programme assisting Swazi orphans, and Gone Rural boMake, a charity that assists rural Swazi women and the communities with information and infrastructure development, addressing health, education and social concerns.

Video: Johannesburg in one word!

Back at the end of November 2013 the 3rd annual WORD N SOUND International Youth Poetry + Live Music festival took place in Johannesburg. Having a crowd of spoken word artists and poets in one spot, someone had the great idea to ask 17 of them (including some of the organisers of WORD N SOUND) to put Johannesburg into one word. Here is what they said... Love it! Kudos Matador Network!

Word n Sound from Matador Network on Vimeo.

The street culture of South Africa (videos)

Sprite, the lemon-lime flavored soft drink, and The Fader, an independent Manhattan-based music/style/art/culture magazine, have teamed up to spotlight South Africa’s vibrant, emerging street culture through their brandnew "Obey You Collective: South Africa" campaign. During the month of January and February 2014 [update: and March 2014], Sprite & The Fader will present a series of six video documentaries highlighting some of South Africa’s most creative and interesting talents to bring you a look at the arts coming out of South Africa. 
A mini-documentary about Braamfontein, known as one of the Johannesburg's most creative neighborhoods, is the first video of the series. We will add the upcoming videos to the playlist below. Enjoy!



All the films are via the amazing eye of South African director Adriaan Louw of we-are-awesome. Kudos Sprite, The Fader & Adriaan!

1. South Africa - Braamfontein: A Creative Community in Johannesburg
2. South Africa - Rooftop Braai (Johannesburg)
3. South Africa - pastel heART Shows Us His Streets
4. South Africa - pastel heART Painting (Durban) 
5. South Africa - Stance in Cape Town
6. South Africa - Tarryn Alberts' World (Cape Town)
7. South Africa - Dancing with Tarryn Alberts (Cape Town)
8. South Africa - On the Street with Gasak (Pietermaritzburg)
9. South Africa - Gasak's Graffiti (Pietermaritzburg)
10. South Africa - Tony Dangler is Comin' Up (Johannesburg) 
11. South Africa - Tony Dangler's "No Manners" (Johannesburg)
12. South Africa - Lenny Mogoba's Got Game (Johannesburg)
13. South Africa - On the Court with Lenny Mogoba (Johannesburg) 
14.  

Heavy Metal in Mozambique: "Terra Pesada" (teaser trailer)

I just stumbled on a great teaser trailer for a documentary called "Terra Pesada" about heavy metal music in Mozambique. The film tells the story of young heavy metal musicians in Mozambique and their quest to make their voices heard. Leslie Bornstein, the filmmaker, and her team follow them at home, at school, hanging out with their friends, talking about music, politics, HIV/AIDS, the wars, what their lives are like now, the difficulties they face, their hopes, dreams, ambitions, aspirations, and of course there are rehearsals and concerts.

TERRA PESADA from Wiley Flo Productions on Vimeo.

Filmmaker Leslie Bornstein, a self-proclaimed metal aficionado, initially came to visit a friend in Mozambique. They went to a heavy metal concert in the outskirts of Maputo and thats how and when the idea to shoot a documentary about the heavy metal scene in the Southern African country was born. She visited Mozambique four times so far to film the documentary and has now launched a crowd-funding campaign to raise more funds to complete the postproduction of "Terra Pesada". Please check it out and support the project if you like it. For more information about the film and the ideas behind it, visit the website of "Terra Pesada"  and/or contact Leslie.

Video: JOBURG PARTY! A snapshot of South Africa's new youth underground (8 min)

Rod Stanley and Chris Saunders, a British journalist and a South African photographer, spend two days and nights in Johannesburg to get an idea what the new youth underground in the city is like and to shoot a short documentary about it. They went to poolside jams, rooftop parties, warehouse raves, street fashion shoots and interviewed local artists, musicians, bands, crews and Djs like Chocolate, Dirty Paraffin, Richard the Third, Khaya Sibiya aka Bhubessi, YFM DJ Eda Rose, Desmond & The Tutus, Murray Turpin aka M18J92T and Jamal Nxedlana. Enjoy the great 8min snapshot of South Africa's new youth underground! Kudos Rod and Chris!

JOBURG PARTY! A snapshot of South Africa's new youth underground from Windeck Productions on Vimeo.

Night Bus: New bus service to connect Johannesburg's nightlife hotspots >>

Malawi: Lake of Stars Project to celebrate 10th Anniversary by hosting "City of Stars" festival in Lilongwe

update (14 June 2013): The organisers of the "City of Stars" Festival have announced that the event will be held at the Sanctuary Lodge in Lilongwe, Malawi from 27 to 28 September 2013.

update (03 June 2013): The organisers of the "City of Stars" festival in Lilongwe, Malawi, have uploaded a new video to introduce the new event to the public. Enjoy!



In 2012 Malawi missed out on the "Lake of Stars" festival, usually taking place on the shores of Lake Malawi, as the organisers spent time developing new ways to enhance and promote the music, culture and tourism of Malawi, based on their experience and that of local practitioners. There will also be no "Lake of Stars" festival in 2013, but the organisers of the festival have announced that the Lake of Stars Project will celebrate its 10 Year Anniversary by hosting a brand new city-based festival and arts conference in Lilongwe, Malawi from 27 to 28 September 2013. Tickets for the "City of Stars" festival will be on sale in July 2013, with the first acts being confirmed as "The Very Best" (Lilongwe & London), "George the Poet" (London) and "Auntie Flo" (Glasgow). For more info, visit the "City of Stars" website!

Swaziland: The 7th Bushfire festival will take place from 31 May 2013 - 02 June 2013

update (16 July 2013): Red Bulletin, Red Bull's international monthly publication, covered the Bushfire festival 2013 in their June 2013 edition. Thx Bushfire for making the article available online; click here to download (pdf).

update (01 July 2013): The 8th Bushfire festival in Swaziland will take place between 30 May - 01 June 2014!

The organisers of the famous Bushfire festival in Swaziland have just announced, that the 7th edition of the festival will take place from 31 May 2013 - 02 June 2013. Bushfire is Swaziland's acclaimed international music and arts festival held at the House on Fire in the Malkerns Valley. Each year a diverse audience of up to 20,000 people come together over three days to experience an eclectic Pan-African and international line-up of live music, theatre, poetry, film, circus, dance and visual arts.

Bushfire is a true gathering of arts and culture for the whole family. In addition to the amazing live-music line up, there is a range of other entertainment and educational activities. These include the Bushfire Schools Festival, which sees dozens of local school children participating, the Family and Kidzone that includes workshops, theatre, story-telling, fairground rides, farm animals and much more.
100% of profits made through the festial are donated to two charities in Swaziland: Young Heroes, a child sponsorship programme assisting Swazi orphans, and Gone Rural boMake, a charity that assists rural Swazi women and the communities with information and infrastructure development, addressing health, education and social concerns.
Online ticket sales will open 11 February 2013. We'll keep you posted!
update (23 April 2013): Tickets are still available!

Video: Review of the Cape Town Electronic Music Festival 2012

The very first Cape Town Electronic Music Festival (CTEMF) took place in Cape Town from 27 March - 01 April 2012. The core festival, which was preluded by a week of workshops, info-sessions, showcases and fringe events, was held  on the roof of the Breakwater parking garage at The V&A Waterfront from 30 March - 01 April 2012. Tickets for the festival were actually quite affordable - a weekend pass was going at R200 and day passes were available at R100.

Cape Town Electronic Music Festival 2012 - full review from CTEMF on Vimeo.

Next year's Cape Town Electronic Music Festival will take place in Cape Town from 15 - 17 February 2013 on the roof of Breakwater parking garage at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront. The weekend pass is R350; day pass: R150.

Documentary about the music culture of Malawi - "Deep Roots Malawi" (55min)

Back in 2008, musician Kenny Gilmore, who grew up in Malawi, and an international film and recording team travelled through Malawi to document and record the country's musical past and present, investigating the fusion of indigenous rhythms with contemporary beats and illuminating the path for the future of Malawian music. The result of their journey through Malawi is the 55-min-documentary "Deep Roots Malawi", which takes the viewer right into  heart of the Malawian music culture featuring  recordings from a range of secular individual musicians, small groups and cultural dance troupes such as Lucuis Banda, The Black Missionaries, and Body, Mind & Soul at the Warehouse, Umunthu Theatre and the Lake of Stars Festival.

Kudos Kenny Gilmore, Promote Africa and all the musicians of Malawi.

Johannesburg: Joy of Jazz Festival 2012 (23 - 25 Aug 2012)

If you like jazz music and you are going to be in South Africa around the end of August 2012, you shouldn't miss out the Joy of Jazz Festival (23-25 Aug 2012) in Johannesburg's suburb Newtown. A total of 40 international, such as Grammy-Award winner Kurt Elling, trombone master Wycliffe Gordon and the world famous Duke Ellington Orchestra, and local jazz musicians, such as Jimmy Dludlu, Caiphus Semenya and Bakithi Kumalo, will be showcasing their talent during the festival, which will be staged at 8 locations in and around the city's viby, historical Newtown Precinct.

The Dinaledi Stage and the Mbira Stage will be erected on Mary Fitzgerald Square, creating two purpose-built venues to showcase this year’s line-up. Other venues include Bassline, Conga and The Market Theatre will all play host. Free venues include Sophiatown, Shikista and Nikki’s Oasis.
Tickets for the Joy of Jazz Festival are available from all Computicket outlets are at Computicket online.

Zanzibar: Sauti Za Busara festival announces 2013 dates

update (22 Jan 2013): G Adventures is offering a "Sauti Za Busara festival" package including arrival and departure transfers, full entry pass for the Sauti Za Busara, a walking tour of Stone Town, 5 Breakfasts, Hotel (5nts), private air-conditioned minivan, a local representative in Stone Town and a driver [more info & booking]

update (30 Nov 2012): The organisers of the Sauti Za Busara festival have uploaded a playlist of their favorite artists performing at the festival in 2013. Enjoy!

update (18 Oct 2012): The organisers of Zanzibar's famous festival Sauti Za Busara have published the line-up for the 10th annual festival of culture, music and arts. It includes: Cheikh Lô (Senegal), Mlimani Park Orchestra (Tanzania), Culture Musical Club (Zanzibar / Tanzania), Atongo Zimba (Ghana / UK), Nathalie Natiembe (Reunion), Nawal & Les Femmes de la Lune (Comoros / France), Wazimbo (Mozambique), Owiny Sigoma Band (Kenya / UK)  Mokoomba (Zimbabwe), Msafiri Zawose & Sauti Band (Tanzania), Burkina Electric (Burkina Faso / USA), Lumumba Theatre Group (Tanzania), Sousou & Maher Cissoko (Senegal / Sweden), Super Maya Baikoko (Tanzania), Wakwetu Jazz Vibes (Tanzania), Safi Theatre Group (Tanzania), Peter Msechu (Tanzania) and more

The organisers of Zanzibar's famous festival Sauti Za Busara just announced that next year's editon of the festival will take place from 14 - 17 February 2013. The festival's venue will again be the Old Fort in the insland's capital Stone Town.
Highlights of the 10th edition of the Sauti Za Busara will include performances from about 200 musicians from East Africa, Africa and the World, as well as screenings of African music films and a festival market place where food and drinks, but also music CDs, jewellery, clothing and handicrafts will be on offer.

Around festival time, Zanzibar will be buzzing with a range of fringe events, such as traditional ngoma drum and dance, fashion shows, dhow races, open-mic sessions, after-parties and performances of Zanzibar’s oldest Taarab orchestras are arranged by the local community.
Some good reasons to visit Zanzibar in February 2013. Also keep in mind that the festival will be beginning on Valentines Day (14 Feb 2013)... Enjoy!

Malawi: Lake of Stars takes a year off to support local initiatives

The Lake of Stars festival team will be taking a year off in 2012 from producing the festival to focus on strengthening local talent and supporting local initiatives, but don't worry. Will Jameson, the Director and founder of Lake of Stars, already confirmed that the festival will defo return to the shores of Lake Malawi in 2013. In a press statement, he said: "After eight years of the festival, we have decided to take stock of our experiences in putting the festival together, and spend some time supporting local initiatives in Malawi. We also want to take time this year to incorporate the feedback from Malawians and international festival goers, artists and sponsors to help us build a bigger and better event in 2013."
The Lake of Stars festival saw record attendance in 2011 and the project has reached an audience of over 300 million people through media coverage since 2009. The 2011 festival generated a record-breaking $1.3 million dollars of local spend.

Swaziland: Bush Fire Festival will be held from 25 - 27 May 2012

update (01 March 2012): Some of the acts that will be steaming up the festival’s stages are: Ayo, Saul Williams and Flavia Coelho, as well as the Burundi Drummers, the sublime Swazi songstress Nancy G and "Swazi soul" pioneer Bholoja. Among the South African acts will be MXO, Jeremy Loops, Tonik, Mi Casa, DJ duo Revolution, and jazz maestro Adam Glasser’s Mzansi project, featuring vocalist Pinise Saul and guitarist Bheki Khoza.

Now in its 6th year the Bush Fire Festival is Swaziland's major annual music festival. It will  be held from the 25 - 27 May 2012 and staged at the famous House-on-Fire. The festival’s theme for 2012, revealed during the official launch of the event on 24 Feb 2012 held at the Malandela’s lawn, is "the art of self discovery". We'll keep you posted (line up, tickets etc.)!

Bush Fire's annual line up features live music, theatre, poetry, film, circus, dance and visual arts from all over the globe. Each year a diverse audience of up to 20,000 people come together over three days to celebrate cultural meeting points, fuelling a feast of magical performances from Africa and beyond. 100% of the profits from Bush Fire are donated to Young Heroes, a Swazi NGO providing support to AIDS orphans.