Curtains roll down on Sauti za Busara 2023, dates announced for 2024

For immediate release

February 14, 2023

Zanzibar. The 20^th edition of the globally-acclaimed Sauti za Busara festival came to a thrilling crescendo on Sunday night after three days of powerful performances that breathed life into the Old Fort and the Stone Town neighbourhood.

The 2023 edition was held under the theme: Our Diversity, Our Wealth. In his remarks, festival director Yusuf Mahmoud said that the edition was a milestone given the humble beginnings and the several challenges their organisation had faced.

“But even when we were faced with the most difficult of situations where we almost had no option but to close, our team never gave up,” he said.

And with the assurance of core-funding from Fumba Town by CPS covering costs to run its office, the festival has already announced the next edition will take place between 9 - 11 February 2024.

Over three nights close to 30 groups thrilled audiences who had travelled from across the world to catch a glimpse of Africa’s musical diversity and talents.

For many of the revellers in attendance, it was their first time at the festival, whereas others had attended almost all editions for two decades, such as the celebrated artist Mwandale Mwanyekwa, aka Mama Afrika. Many audience members expressed surprise and wonder at the professionalism of the organisation, the high-quality sound and punctuality of all the shows.

Musicians hailed from Eastern, Western, Northern, Southern and Central African regions, for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic that brought the world to its knees three years ago.

The rich line-up included Tanzanian artists such as Mzee wa Bwax, Damian Soul, Patricia Hillary, Zawose Reunion, Stone Town Rockerz, Uwaridi Female Band, Zan Ubuntu, Supa Kalulu, Zenji Boy na Wenzake, Waungwana Band and Culture Musical Club, Zanzibar’s traditional taarab orchestra that was founded in 1958.

As well as the ‘Movers & Shakers’ networking opportunities for music industry professionals, another element of this year’s festival that was highly praised was the ‘Swahili Encounters’ project, which brought together 11 musicians from Tanzania, Kenya, Zimbabwe, DRC and Sudan for four days of rehearsals and collaborations, ending with a spellbinding performance on Saturday night.

South African group BCUC, who were the undisputed heroes of Sauti za Busara 2019 with their powerful messages and explosive performances were invited to return for this special 20^th anniversary edition, where they gave another breath-taking show.

Female artists gave some of the strongest performances, including Asia Madani from Sudan, Nasibo from Zimbabwe, Naxx Bitota from DRC, Atse Tewodros Project from Ethiopia and Italy and Zily from Mayotte having their voices heard on two stages inside the Old Fort.

However, the bill was topped by Tiken Jah Fakoly, from Ivory Coast, who is widely known as Africa’s greatest reggae star. He brought the house down with a powerful performance that lasted almost two hours with a set that was full of conscious lyrics and positive messages, for Africa and the world.

The 20th Sauti za Busara festival was powered by Fumba Town - a project by CPS, Ignite Culture, CRDB Bank, Australian High Commission, Embassy of France, Institut Français, Kendwa Rocks, Mjini FM, ST Bongo TV, Serikali ya Mapinduzi ya Zanzibar, Adventure247 Marketing Agency, Zanzibar Serena Hotel, Coconut FM, Zanlink, Emerson Zanzibar, 2Tech Security and more.

NOTE TO EDITOR: For hi-res photos, see www.flickr.com/photos/sautizabusara2022/ and www.busaramusic.org/downloads/