FOLKLORE FESTIVAL 2024
FAMILY DAY | 14 SEPTEMBER 2024
AMANDA BLACK, MADALA KUNENE, MALEH, TUBATSI MPHO MOLOI, SIBUSILE XABA, MORE TO BE PERFORMING ON 14 SEPTEMBER 2024
The Gauteng #WeTheFolk Folklore Fringe Shows will finale with the annual family Friendly Festival on 14th September, at Constitution Hill, Women’s Jail Precinct. A a rich line up of musicians, authors, spoken word artists, poets, and storytellers have been added to the programme. We are still keeping to our promised of inter-generational dialogue by way of edu-tainment for kids of all ages from 11am – 5pm curated by Nickerbockerdoodlebug, Logan & Friends with education specialist Dr Jocelyn Logan-Friend, featuring Gcina Mhlophe and Sho Madjozi with Sho Ma &The stars.
On the main stage we meet:
Amanda Black a powerful voice in women empowerment and African identity. This multi-platinum selling and multiple award-winning singer/songwriter, will bring her afro-soul flair to the days line up. She is an inspired storyteller, consummate performer and Afro - Rockstar!
Dr Madala Kunene is a guitarist, singer, a songwriter, a composer and a musical anthropologist whose native rhythms cross the musical lines between jazz and Zulu folk blues. Affectionately known as ‘Bafo’ - which means brother; his sound has become a staple diet on music stages across South Africa for well over five decades and his dexterity on the six string has earned him the title of “King Of The Zulu Guitar”.
Hailing from the Kingdom of Lesotho we have Maleh, with music textured with tales of migrancy, folklore and moments of deep self-reflection. We look forward to this singer-songwriters considered and afro- spiritual soul.
Then we meet Tubatsi Mpho Moloi, a multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter influenced by the sounds of blues, jazz, rock and African folk music. His newest work is inspired by artists GuyButtery, Philip Tabane, Bob Dylan and Zim Nqawane. His music asks the audience to be open-minded and exploratory as he brings a collaboration of sound and genre in creating an authentic fusion folk sound.
A beautiful moment is planned to meet Sibusile Xaba’s solo guitar. This Charismatic guitar savant reframes Maskandi, Malombo the desert blues and jazz into his own avant garde humanist manifesto. With a vocal style that is part dream-scaping & part ancestral invocation, Xaba divines as opposed to plainly singing & imbuing mythology
and improvisational intensity.
DR GCINA MHLOPHE, MOAFRIKA WA MOKGATHI, vangile gantsho + PILANI BUBU, BUBBLES THE DJ, DJ BOB + WOMLAMBO
Then we meet Dr Gcina Mhlophe, an author, storyteller whose works have been translated into many languages, including all official South African languages, kiSwahili, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese,Japanese and even Braille. She has directed her theatre plays in USA, UK and Greenland, her most widely known and studied theatre text being "Have You Seen Zandile?". Her poetry has been reinterpreted into dance and classical music. She has recently edited and self-published the “Our Storytelling Tree: A South African Storytellers Directory” a first of its kind in archiving 38 of the storytellers currently working in South Africa.
This year poetry peeks every one’s interest with a musical flow from the 3 piece band supporting Dr Gcina Mhlophe, vangile gantsho & MoAfrika Wa Mokgathi.
vangile gantsho is healer, poet and co-founder of impepho press. She is the author of two poetry collections: Red cotton (2018) and Undressing in Front of the Window (2015, Named one of Mail & Guardian’s 2018 Top Young200 South Africans. Her poetry has been published in various literary publications, including Years of Fire and Ash – South African Poems of Decolonisation (2021) New Daughters of Africa (2019), andThe Atlanta Review (2018).
MoAfrika wa Mokgathi is a SouthAfrican based multi-faceted artist, who is a writer, poet
performer, Cultural strategist, a serial civil leader, an award-winning radio Presenter-Producer and cultural worker recognised by the Mail & Guardian Top Young 200 South Africans (2020) amongst many in her talent hat. known for her Sepedi pen, her fusion of the language with English and blend of Jazz, soul and kiba rhythms with her deep sassy vocals.
Our DJ’s for the day include: Bubbles The DJ, DJ Bob and Womlambo.
Bubbles The DJ also known as BillyJackson or ‘Bubblingo’ in some circles is a vinyl enthusiast, record collector, music historian, researcher, record producer, cultural activist based in Pretoria who’s been active in the music industry for close to three decades.
DJ Bob is besotted with Jazz,70s Funk-adelica and Southern African Traditional sounds. He loves a good Samba and always throws in a healthy dose of Afrobeat, Acid Jazz and Trip Hoppy 90’sElectronica. This love of a good record and a Funky Jam has served him well on the festival, club and live music circuit around Southern Africa.
Womlambo’s developing sonic offerings have become an extension of her practice as a cultural worker/curator. The amorphous soundscapes are an exploration of the intersection of nature + ritual. Moving between the sacred and secular, she draws from genres such as pan-African,'worldwide' (or rather quasi-traditional, intercultural, and indigenous music from non-western countries), electronica, IDM, alternative, ambient, new age and jazz.
Your host and MC, ‘Indelible Storyteller’ - Pilani Bubu, is a multi-award winning singer-songwriter, poet, TV presenter and also the founder and curator of the Folklore Festival. It is a ritual and an honour for Pilani to perform annually at the festival as her contribution the festivals theme and discourse. Previous years we explored Folklore Chapter 1 and 2 pertaining to intergenerational dialogue and issues of the black family and African spirituality. This year she performs Nay’Indaba reflecting on South Africa’s history past to present as we contemplate
30 years of Freedom with the festivals #WeTheFolk theme.
Ticket Link to 14 September Family Day.
https://qkt.io/FolkloreFestival2024FamilyDay14September
Available on Quicket from R150 | Student Discounts Available
Kids under 10 enter the main gate for Free
FOLKLORE FESTIVAL (REPRISE)
The festival year on year closes with a REPRISE.What is the definition of a reprise: “in music, a reprise is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition”
This year’s Folklore Festival Reprise will be held in Cape Town.
FOLKLORE FESTIVAL (REPRISE) - LINE UP ON 20 & 21SEPTEMBER IN CAPE TOWN AT THE GORGEOUS GEORGE PINK ROOM FROM 6PM TILL LATE,FEATURES…
MORENA LERABA, KUJENGA, DIGITAL SANGOMA, CHOSI, SIFISO KHANYILE FILMS: UPRIZE & A NEW COUNTRY, with DJ MIGHTY AND ATIYYAH KHAN (EL CORAZON)
Our Friday night headliner’s are Kujenga, a seven piece Black improvised music outfit from Cape Town, Kujenga follows on from the rich history of Black band music in South Africa, with the young ensemble representing the present & future for this historic sound.The band released their debut album 'Nationality' in 2019 and their sophomore album 'In The Wake' in 2024.
Supported by Digital Sangoma - an independent Afro indie Electronic Music Producer, DJ, and Performer from sunny Cape Town, South Africa. His music is a hypnotic blend of traditional chants, Afro, indie, and Alternative Dance, with an electric dash of Afro House and groovy guitar riffs, all wrapped up in soulful vocals.
Our Saturday headliner is Morena Leraba is aLesotho-born singer and rapper. He mainly uses traditional Sesotho lyrics and combines them with electro, afro house and Hip hop. His lyrics are deeply rooted in Lesotho's traditional music, poetry, and its sub-genre, famo. Morena Leraba grew up in the village of Ha-Mojela in Lesotho. He got exposed to a variety of music such as kwaito and the traditional music of Lesotho including the alternative and rock music.
Supported by Chosi, who hails from the dusty streets of KwaZakhele Township in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape. She describes her sound as a soulful blend of jazz nesingqi. Her influences are her family’s church - the Zion church. She comes from a musical family, from choral to gospel music. She realised her artistry when she started writing poetry to help make sense of the socio-political climate she was in at the time. From poetry, she wrote songs.
Both nights, begin with a film screenings and curated DJ sets by Sifiso Khanyile featuring DJ Mighty and Atiyyah Khan (El Corazon)
Sifiso Khanyile is a Producer/ Director of Anaphora Films. He has works as writer, archive researcher and has worked as a content producer on SABC shows such as Imagine Afrika, Zooming In on Men,Talk SA and Hatch. After studying, Khanyile directed Spiderman and Romeo(2008), a ground breaking short documentary about the thrills and dangers of train surfing on the notorious Metro rail Soweto line. The film was screened at numerous local and international festivals and shown on BBC and Sechuan TV(China). Khanyile's first feature documentary directorial credits include the acclaimed Uprize! (2017) and A New Country (2020).
Atiyyah Khan (El Corazon) is a record collector, archivist, selector and arts journalist based in Cape Town, South Africa. She is the co-founding member of music and art collective, Future Nostalgia who runs regular gigs around the city.
DJ Mighty is a prolific vinyl collector and DJ with a very broad and creative selection - fromHouse to Jazz to Funk to Afro. He has been spinning records for over a decade in clubs and at events. Mighty has played at some of Southern Africa’s most prominent music festivals, including the Bushfire Festival(Swaziland), Holi One Festival (Cape and Johannesburg), Red Bull ElectronicMusic Festival (Cape Town) and Rocking the Daisies (Western Cape).
DJ Mighty only spins vinyl. His unique psychedelic and voodoo-like performances have been known to move crowds wherever he plays.
Ticket Links to Cape Town Below
Early Bird and Student Ticket at R180 | At the door at R200 | Available on Quicket
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20 September
https://qkt.io/FolkloreFestival2024RepriseCapeTown20September
21 September
https://qkt.io/FolkloreFestival2024RepriseCapeTown21September
THREE CITIES, OVER THIRTY DAYS
We are marking key dates for conversation this year and in between we have curated a fringe festival like no other. Mark my words and lean into this communities’ intentions for 2024! We are coming in unapologetically strong! We are here to do the work!
We launched our 2024 festival theme #WETHEFOLK in Cape Town on June 16, Youth Day and on Women’s month from 7 - 9 August, we’ll be doing the same in Johannesburg and Pretoria.
WE LAUNCH | 7, 8, 9 AUGUST
#WeTheFolk Press Launch: 7 AUGUST: at NSA Theatre, Johannesburg Ft. PILANI BUBU & NICKY B
#WeTheFolk: Free Activation - 8 AUGUST. State Theatre, Pretoria
Folklore Festival presents the Folk & Poetry Stage in collaboration with Black Labone’s Earth Day.
#WeTheFolk: Women’s Day Edition – 9 AUGUST, St Lorient Gallery Pretoria
Folklore Festival presents a trilogy moment for Imbokodo: An art Exhibition, Women’s Book Fair with Busisekile Khumalo and Shafinaaz Hassim - themed: Writing Women in the now and live music with KATZTHESINGER, SPARTZ & PILANI BUBU.
FOLKLORE FESTIVAL
Building Community Through Collaboration
Folklore Festival is all about building community through collaborations that celebrate and embrace diversity! At the heart of it is storytelling, intergenerational dialogue and showcasing and sharing our Indigenous Knowledge Systems through music, poetry, literature, art, and dance! This is more than a music festival! It is a gathering for the whole family which aims to reignite our sense of connectedness and community on South African Heritage Month.
Our Festival Director's way to bridge the gap that exists between the old and the young, the then and now is through a production that not only upskills the pupils of the schools we collaborate with through a skills transfer program, but by way of knowledge transfer which she believes is empowering to our heritage as the young ones are a vehicle to carry our Indigenous Knowledge Systems to the future! Through rehearsals and workshops, the pupils gain insight and the confidence to perform alongside industry professionals for the families and the Folklore Community!
As part of the festival’s agenda towards intergenerational dialogue, we see on the main stage, experimental collaborations in which you can expect a folkloric and nostalgic storytelling fused with modern dance sounds inspired by childhood play songs that resonate with the archetypal inner-child. Paying homage and reference to the dance culture of South Africa in the genres of afro-pop, amapiano, gqom and kwaito weaved with jazz and children’s voices. Elevating the idea of play as a form of learning and exchange. An inspired teaching moment…
Edu-play for Bambinos and Kids
Our ethos for Folklore for Kids is to be a safe environment that cultivates our children's capacity to express, listen, learn, and discover through play and activities. We aim to be a space that encourages families to spend time outside of the home to expose their kids to that which is meaningful. The festival offers a kids play area and kids stage. Whether you are bringing your bambino who is learning to walk, your kid who enjoys being active and another who thrives best engaged in an interactive
activity - our play area with child minders has something for every kid, with soft play, Edu-play and workshops.
Our Book Fair features book readings and signings by African
authors who are passionate about writing enriching and educational stories that the African child can draw inspiration from and learn through.
Not just a music festival!
The activities at Folklore Festival are informed by celebrating our culture and heritage through a multidisciplinary experience from the East, West, North and South of Africa. A music concert on the main stage, workshops, a book fair on the storyteller’s stage, a bambinos and kids area with drumming circles, play time singing and a safe place to leave your kids to play and learn - not forgetting traditional dancers off stage, making for the best sensorial cultural experience!
"Folklore is the expressive body of culture shared and preserved by a particular group of people, it is inclusive of the traditional beliefs, customs, and stories of a community, passed through the generations by word of mouth, in the form of tales, sayings, dances, proverbs, jokes and music captured through various art forms.” Says Bubu.
Growing Audiences for Indigenous Arts & Artists
Folklore Festival curates a lineup of art and artists that showcases elements and tells stories that are authentic and unique to us as Africans. This then creates the opportunity for niche artists who are not in the mainstream to be discovered and appreciated by new audiences through the Folklore Community.
Connecting Crafters and Entrepreneurs to Consumers
We embrace the rich tapestry of our African arts, crafts, curios, fashion, jewellery, indigenous toys, instruments and more at the Folklore Festival Craft Market to showcase and create the opportunity for crafters of unique and proudly African products to meet customers.
Festival goers are treated to a wide plethora of cuisines at the Folklore Festival Food Market to explore delectable food and refreshments by vendors who are passionate about good food!
Join the community
The Folklore Festival was inspired by the SAMA Award-winning album Folklore: Chapter 1 and the realization that there exists a community which celebrates and appreciates culture and Heritage. We will launch Folklore Chapter 2: Ekuseni on 30 November and have Folklore Festival Summer Fringe Shows coming up. Sign up to receive invites and updates, and see you soon!
