The fourth annual Zakifo Music Festival is hitting Durban’s shores on 25, 26 and 27 May, and promises a wide-ranging line-up of cutting-edge musicians from across the African continent and beyond. Two lucky readers can each win a pair of tickets to Zakifo – for the Sunday programme at the Blue Lagoon Beach.
This year the festival will be spread across three iconic Durban venues – the BAT Centre, Views at Twenty5, and Blue Lagoon Beach.
To stand a chance to win, answer the question below:
Kicking off the festival on Friday night is a fundraising concert for the Nelson Mandela Foundation at the BAT Centre featuring Sekou Kouyate, a renowned kora player from Guinea, Elida Almeida, a young Cape Verdean folk singer, and 5FM’s Nick Hamman with a DJ set in between acts. Headlining the evening is South African icon Sipho ‘Hotstix’ Mabuse. This event is ticketed separately from the rest of the festival.
From there the festivities move to Views @ Twenty5 in Morningside for the rest of Friday night and Saturday night. This exceptional rooftop venue offers panoramic views of the city of Durban, the perfect backdrop for the evenings’ performances by Nasty C, DJ Lag, Flavia Coelho, Nathalie Natiembé, DJ Doowap, Oki Dub Ainu Band, K-$, Pussy Party, and by explosive Durban up-and-comers ByLwansta, Baraka and Sainty Baby.
Answering the call of the Indian Ocean, Zakifo returns to Blue Lagoon Beach on Sunday the 27th. This family-friendly final day of the festival offers local food and market stalls and a Growler Station beer tent serving Zakifo’s signature lager, made by Durban Brewing Co. The lineup for Sunday features Dub Inc, Alice Phoebe Lou, Nakhane, Guy Buttery and Kanada Narahari, Femi Koya, Siseko Pame and major international singer-songwriter Aloe Blacc. Best known for his hit singles “The Man” and “I Need A Dollar”, and for featuring on Avicii’s “Wake Me Up”, Blacc has proved himself a talented musician with an irresistible power to capture the complexities of human emotion.
Originally signed to Stones’ Throw Records, Aloe Blacc has over the years evolved his sound from hip-hop inspired by the likes of Public Enemy, The Pharcyde, and De La Soul to a smooth array of pop, folk and soul paired with poetic yet incisive lyrics, huge hooks and relentless feel-good grooves.
Zakifo aspires to strengthen ties between the cultural communities of the Indian Ocean through its sister festival, Sakifo, held each year in Réunion. Zakifo, founded by Jerome Galabert, Sipho Sithole and Andy Davis, is a member of the Igoda music festival circuit which includes Sakifo Festival in Réunion, Azgo Festival in Mozambique, Bassline Africa Day concert in Johannesburg, and Bushfire Festival in Swaziland. These festivals happen over a period of three weeks in May and June and have created an artist and festivalgoer touring circuit in the Southern African region.
“Sakifo means ‘what is needed’ in Creole,” says Galabert. “With Zakifo Durban our intention is the same. Through our world-class line-up, we strive to inspire and create lasting opportunities for collaboration; cross-cultural exchanges; economic opportunities and skills development.”
The line up of performers this year includes:
Aloe Blacc (USA) – chart-topping soul/funk singer and songwriter. Wrote the hits “The Man” and “I Need a Dollar” and featured on Avicii’s “Wake Me Up”
Sipho ‘Hotstix’ Mabuse (RSA) – South African musical legend and funk, pop and soul artist
Alice Phoebe Lou (RSA/Germany) – independent blues/folk artist from Cape Town, currently based in Berlin
Dub Inc (France) – reggae/dancehall band from Saint-Éttienne; fuse classic roots reggae with dub, dancehall, ska, hip-hop and African influences
Flavia Coelho (Brazil) – a hybrid blend of samba and bossa nova sounds and reggae and hip hop rhythms
Nasty C (RSA) – easily one of the most exciting acts on the South African hip-hop scene; born and bred in Durban, at 21 Nasty C has carved out his own niche
DJ Doowap (RSA) – live mix DJ playing a selection of bass, dubstep and trap
Nakhane (RSA) – SAMA award-winner and rising star in South African music
K-$ (RSA) – plays throwback disco, funk and soul-heavy DJ sets
Femi Koya (Nigeria/RSA) – “the new face of the African Renaissance”; a rich blend of afrobeat, highlife and Sophiatown-influenced jazz
DJ Lag (RSA) – the Gqom King; pioneer of iconic Durban house sub-genre gqom
Elida Almeida (Cape Verde) – Cape Verdean beats fused with Latino energy
BCUC (RSA) – “indigenous funky soul”; a politically-charged and truly South African sound
Nathalie Natiembé (Réunion) – beloved Réunion singer; creates an amalgam of rock, funk and traditional Creole music
Guy Buttery and Kanada Narahari (RSA/India) – South African guitar virtuoso and accomplished Indian sitar player; driven by their mutual curiosity in each other’s diverse musical worlds
Sekou Kouyate (Guinea) – multi-award-winning musician; regarded as one of the world’s best kora players
Oki Dub Ainu Band (Japan) – blending the music of the Ainu people of Japan with dub, reggae and afrobeat grooves
Siseko Pame (RSA) – ethno-soul laced with Xhosa folk harmonies, violin, and Pame’s emotive, earthy voice
Pussy Party (RSA) – an all-womxn DJ platform with a rotating lineup that exists to create a regular opportunity for female DJs and artists to practice, incubate, exchange, and expose
The Sun Xa Experiment (RSA) – world music influenced by jazz, hip hop and traditional and ancestral sounds
Nick Hamman (RSA) – 5FM DJ and host of the Hamman Time weekday show and the 5FM Top 40
ByLwansta (RSA) – ByLwansta constructs conversational raps laden with brutal honesty and vivid story-telling, delivered in a style that emanates a soulful and mellow vigor
Sainty Baby (RSA) – Pietermaritzburg-based DJ and producer and graduate of Soul Candi Institute of Music; founder of the Food Fashion Music event and radio co-host and co-producer on Vuma FM
Baraka (RSA) – blending deep house, kwaito, jazz, future soul and world sounds with the intention to create an atmosphere of love, inviting upliftment and transformation
Tickets are available via Nutickets:
R500 – 3-day weekend pass (excl. Madiba concert)
R150 – Friday pass – Views @ Twenty5
R150 – Saturday pass – Views @ Twenty5
R300 – Sunday pass – Blue Lagoon Beach
R300 – Friday Madiba concert – BAT Centre
NOTE: The winner will be announced on the 14th of May 2018 on TYI’s Facebook page.
