Known to take its audiences on a musical journey through contemporary and traditional East African music, in addition to inviting artists from all over Africa and beyond, Nyege Nyege presents an all star cast for its 8th edition, spread across 9 stages, this promises to be the most life affirming edition to date.
In 2018 Sho Madjozi premiered at Nyege Nyege Festival and left audiences in awe just as her career was about to takeoff , this year « it’s a brand new Sho ! » will premier at Nyege Nyege festival, with a full cast of performers supporting the Black Cinderella in what is assured to be a main stage highlight. South Africa will once again be heavily represented, not only with amapiano, afrohouse and gqom acts but also with legendary rock band BLK JKS known for their afropunk rock sonic activism that inspired millions since they first took the stage in the early 2000’s.
Nyege Nyege isn’t Nyege Nyege without some major acts from Uganda and Kenya, Eddy Kenzo, Apass, Janzi band and Karol Kasita will be amongst the Pearl of Africa’s music ambassadors on the main stage and Kenya will come to match that energy, with genge superstar Mejja headlining the Kenyan delegation, alongside Trio Mio who just released a viral hit collaborating with Ugandan rapper Mudra on Balo Balo. This year Nyege Nyege will host two of East African trap’s most important representatives, Swahili Trap known as SHRAP will be represented by the « Shrap God » himself, Boutross known for his global hit Angela, matching up with Kigali’s finest, Kinyatrap king Bushali. Nyege Nyege is also known to give the spotlight to lesser known talents such as Jemaima Sanyu (Uganda), Olith Ratego (Kenya), Ratigan Era (Uganda) and Aunty Rayzor (Nigeria) to be the next superstars to erupt from the Nyege Nyege main stage to the global spotlight.
Focus on African dance music. Since its inception Nyege Nyege has been known to showcase the vanguard of electronic and dance music from across the continent and its diaspora. This year again, the festival will take its audiences through a wide variety of electronic music genres, with artists from Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, South Africa, Mali, Malawi, Cameroon, Ghana, Rwanda, Algeria, South Sudan, Angola, Mauritius, Saint Lucia, Congo DRC, spanning a continuum of unique African electronic music sounds including singeli, electro Acholi, amapiano, cruisebeat, afrohouse, gqom, gengetone, kuduro, dennery segment, bubbling, balani show, congotekno, naijapiano, afrotech and more. Highlights include East African premieres of kuduro pioneer DJ Znobia from Angola, DJ Tobzy the cruise beat pioneer from Nigeria, DJ Top Klas the worldwide ambassador of dennery segment bringing Saint Lucian carnival vibes to the festival, DJ Travella the singeli wonderchild from Tanzania who’s been electrifying audiences all around the world. Special guests include Mexican Colombian Reggeaton Queen Rosa Pistola, South Korean Club alchemist Net Gala , Mauritius’s premiere DJ Greg as well as the return of Nyege favorites DJ Marcelle, Moesha13, Tash LC and Mika Oki. Nyege Nyege co-founder, OG and Queen Kampire will make it back from touring the world just on time to close the festival this year.
Every year the festival also showcases traditional Ugandan music from all corners of the country, inviting living Masters to deliver very rare performances along the Nile for a one of a kind experience that has made the reputation of the festival. For the first time the festival has also invited a group from Comoros islands.
Highlights will also include an emphasis on DIY music culture, with a very rare performance of Bebson de la Rue, the grandfather of DIY instruments from Kinshasa whose offspring include Kokoko, Fulu Mziki and more, as well as Brian Bamanya aka Afrorack known as a pioneer on the continent for building his own synths and newcomer Decimal Point who is known to wander the streets of Kampala with his homebuilt set up. Another great story is that of Kakuma Sound, a project co-initiated by Nyege Nyege in 2018 that aims at supporting displaced people in refugee camps with instruments and opportunities to preserve their cultural heritage. The initial project brought traditional Burundian drums to Burundians in exile residing in Kakuma refugee camp, and they will leave the camp to perform at Nyege Nyege Festival this year, highlighting the importance of culture and traditions as a means to survive forced displacement.
Like every year, Nyege Nyege has also invited very few carefully selected non African acts, including experimental hiphop outfit Muovipussi from Finland and Model Home from Washington DC, Judgiztu from France who has his debut LP out on NNT in late october, Yuri from Japan – part of the TYO Gqom collective, as well as Berlin underground outliers Operant who will all take part in collaborative residencies in the Nyege Nyege studios.
This year the festival will also introduce the HAKUNA KULALA stage, the BUSOGA stage and the Sudanese Pavillion and see the return of campus favorite Nyegeversity.
More than music, the festival will once again drive Nyegerians into sensory overload, with a theater showcasing the best of African cinema, the Nyege East African Emporium showcasing unique brands and creatives from across the region, food courts featuring some of Uganda’s best establishments and affordable finger lickin’ snacks, crazy rides, photo booths experiences, boat trips and water based activities, a wellness area with fitness and yoga, cute chill out areas, games, VR experiences and much much more.
Few early bird full festival passes are still available at 160,000 Ugandan Shillings, a price that even if revelers only attend 3 or 2 days will still be cheaper than door sales. All info can be found at www.nyegenyege.com
Accomodation is still available in Jinja but revellers are encouraged to book early, more than 400 vendors have also applied to set up shop at the festival, a sign that Nyege Nyege is an enormous boost for our local economy and Uganda’s most prized event that attracts tourists from all around the region and the world.
Nyege Nyege always aims to improve from its previous editions, and based on the 2022 edition the festival will no longer host campers on site, rather relying on smaller camping set ups within existing hotel grounds, the festival will also introduce the « Nyege Nyege Angels » who will be available throughout the festival site 24/7 to reaffirm Nyege Nyege’s commitment to safety and comfort for all the revellers.