Video
Allison Swank
May. 29, 2012 07:53PM EST

Okayafrica TV: East Africa's Biggest Music Festival

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In February of this year Okayafrica TV travelled to Zanzibar to be among the diverse music-loving crowd at Sauti Za Busara, East Africa's biggest music festival. The journey to Zanzibar consisted of a 10-hour bus ride from Nairobi to Dar es Salaam and then a 3 hour ferry from the mainland to Zanzibar. Our crew captured a variety of scenes from the festival including events on the main stage, the dancing crowd, and OKA fav Nneka.

Filmed by Sebastian Lindstrom, Editing by Sebastian Lindstrom and Peter Pavlakis.

 

east africa's biggest music festival music festival Nneka okayafrica tv Peter Pavlakis Sauti Za Busara Sebastian Lindstrom
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Seun Kuti at Felabration. Photo: OkayAfrica.

The 10 Best African Music Festivals

Here are ten of the best music festivals to experience across the African continent, including both established stages and newer productions.

African music, in all its genres and forms, has one of the largest congregations in the world, with millions of people both on the continent and in the diaspora celebrating their love and connection to their culture through sound. Despite the rapid digitization of our music consumption through the internet and streaming services, nothing will ever beat the experience of live music.

Music festivals have become a great inlet into the arts and cultures of the societies that host them, while offering great potential to local economies and countless business opportunities for African artists to grown their brands. Yet this pivotal part of the music experience on the continent is never really prioritized, despite the vast number of festival with diverse genres available all year round, all over Africa.

READ: Stormzy Will Headline South Africa's 'Rocking the Daisies' Festival 2020

Therefore, in no particular order, here are ten African music festivals to bookmark.

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Photo: Zahara Abdul.

The Spirit of Nyege Nyege, Africa's Best Underground Music Festival

It was a non-stop four-day celebration of music, art and culture.

The thousands of local and foreign party-goers who made their way to the Nile Discovery Beach Resort in Jinja, Uganda for this year's MTN Nyege Nyege festival had a weekend of intense fun in store for them

Upon arrival, visitors are greeted by the town's most significant geographical sight. Jinja Town prides itself of sitting right along the northern shores of Lake Victoria, next to the source of the River Nile. From several parts of the district, one can get a stunning view of the famous river as it starts its journey to the Mediterranean Sea.

The annual four-day festival also breathes life into this otherwise laid-back and charming town. With the introduction of MTN as a sponsor, Nyege Nyege promised a bigger and better event. This would include a venue tripled in size, with two additional stages (Spirit of UG stage and Dark Star Stage) and a larger self-contained camping area. For those who do not favour camping, there were several hotels and guesthouses near the city centre, a few minutes by motorcycle taxi (bodaboda) to the venue.

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Miss South Africa Zozibini Tunzi Crowned Miss Universe

South Africans celebrate Zozibini Tunzi's victory.

Today, Zozibini Tunzi got crowned Miss Universe at the 68th instalment of the global beauty pageant. The event took place at Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta Georgia on the 8th of December.

Catriona Gray from The Philippines crowned her successor Zozibini Tunzi at the end of the event which was hosted by Steve Harvey as has been the case in the last five years.

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14 Cultural Events You Can't Miss this December in South Africa

OkayAfrica's guide to must-see events during South Africa's festive season.

South Africans will tell you that December is not just a month, it's an entire lifestyle. From beginning to end, it's about being immersed in a ton of activity with friends and family as well as any new folk you meet along the way. Whether you're looking to turn up to some good music or watch some provocative theater, our guide to just 14 cultural events happening in South Africa this December, has something for everyone.

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