MTN Bushfire 2015: Diversity of artists announced

These artists reflect a wider ange of musical styles and cultures – hailing from as far afield as Australia, Turkey and Austria – as well as from African countries closer to home. These artists are just the latest in a long list of performers, including recently announced headliners, Grammy-nominated artists, Les Nubians. The majority of artists are still to be announced in the upcoming weeks.

The latest list of confirmed artists includes: 

Black Jesus Experience (Australia): Black Jesus Experience blend traditional Ethiopian music with modern hip-hop and funk grooves.  Their rhymes & chimes deliver the musical strength and beauty of AFrica through the vocal prism of hip-hop and the freedom of jazz.

Bongeziwe Mabandla (SA): Two-time SAMA nominee, Bongeziwe Mabandla has been making waves at home and overseas with his perfect blend of urban-African folk. He has performed at festivals in Germany and Spain, as well as opening for the likes of Joss Stone during her South African tour.

123 (Turkey): Since their formation in 2004, the Turkish indie pop band 123 has been dazzling audiences with their intriguing stories and dreamy melodies. They released their debut album, aksel, in 2009, which told the story of a boy named Aksel, an owl and a whale. 

Banda Kakana (Mozambique): Banda Kakana has become a leading representative of a new generation of Mozambican bands, following in the celebrated footsteps of groups like Ghorwane, Eyuphuro and Orquestra Marrabenta Star of Mozambique.  

Shortstraw (SA): Shortstraw are an indie-pop band from Johannesbug, South Africa. They make music that sounds like kittens meowing as they wake up. Having taken South Africa by storm with radio hit after hit – the group’s infectious summer-inspired music is the ideal festival vibe.

BCUC (SA): Bantu Continua Uhuru Consciousness (BCUC) consists of seven musicians from Soweto, South Africa. BCUC moves the audience both physically and emotionally with a sound derived straight from our ancestral lineage. BCUC demystifies the general worldviews about modern Africa.

Sweet Sweet Moon (Austria): Sweet Sweet Moon, is  multi-instrumentalist Matthias Frey. Starting from a traditional guitar singer songwriter approach he has now accomplished the integration his great skillset creating almost orchestral arrangements live on stage merely relying on a violin and his favourite sidekick – the loop pedal. 

DJ InviZable & the Champions of the Sonarverse (South Africa):  A master of staging creative Guerrilla performances through the guise of the most acclaimed Commander to ever lead the 1st corps, the renowned advisor to The Imperial House of Africa, DJ INVIZABLE. The man behind the mask, Nick Matthews, who comes from Cape Town, South Africa, has been a professional DJ and producer for over the last decade.

DJ Okapi (SA): DJ Okapi digs up South African “bubblegum/disco” gems from the late 80 and early 90s, showcasing individual releases and collecting tracks onto mixtapes that he features on his Afro-Synth blog. 

DJ Danger Ingozi (SA): The ever-progressive DJ Danger Ingozi has been flexing his electroactive polymers with a high voltage selection of forward thinking dance music, often infused with African, Baile, Balkan, Reggae, Tropicana and other World Beats.

Tickets for MTN Bushfire 2015 are already on sale via the website, www.bush-fire.com. Make sure you are one of the 20,000 music and arts fans who “bring their fire” to the scenic farmlands of the Malkerns Valley to experience this unique event. For more information and to purchase tickerts: www.bush-fire.com or www.facebook.com/MTNBushfire.