SA: Zoë Modiga to play 2022 North Sea Jazz Festival

She will share the stage with US artists Alicia Keys, Diana Ross, Erykah Badu, Robert Glasper and Nile Rodgers, among others. US singer and pianist John Legend will perform during the Grand Opening Night at Maas hall on 7 July. Ross will headline the festival on 8 July, while Rodgers and his band will close the revered jazz festival on 9 July.

“Being added to the NN North Sea Jazz Festival line-up is a dream come true,” Modiga said. “It’s a bucket-list festival for artists globally, and I’m honoured to have been recognised for my craft to perform on a stage with the world’s greats.”

The inclusion of Modiga on the line-up follows her Reimagining of Miriam Makeba performance at the South African State Theatre alongside Ugandan-Rwandan Grammy-nominated singer Somi. 

Her career took centre stage when she won the 2015 SAMRO Overseas Scholarships Competition for jazz. She became a recording artist in 2017 after plying her trade as a performer for more than a decade.

In 2018, she released her 23-track debut album Yellow: The Novel, which earned her two South African Music Award nominations for Best African Artist Album and Best Jazz Album. What followed was a series of performances at Aardklop Festival, Artscape Youth Jazz Festival, UCT Jazz Festival, Joy of Jazz, and Cape Town International Jazz Festival.

In 2020, she released Inganekwane, an album that is a melting pot of West African rhythms, southern African sensibilities and heartfelt Zulu storytelling.

Find more about the 2022 North Sea Jazz Festival here.