No US trip for African musicians after SXSW cancels amid coronavirus fears

South African artists who were on the line-up are AKA, Amanda Black, Moonchild Sanelly, Nadia Nakai and Samthing Soweto. Nigerian Lady Donli and Lesotho’s Morena Leraba were also due to perform at the event's 34th edition, which was scheduled to take place in Austin, Texas, from 13 March to 22 March. More than 35 artists from eight African countries took part with performances on the 'Africa to the World' stage last year.

The decision to cancel the event was announced by Austin mayor Steve Adler at a news conference on Friday.

The coronavirus has been detected in over 90 countries with more than 110 000 reported cases. More than 3 000 deaths have resulted from the virus, primarily from mainland China where it originated. No cases have been recorded in Austin.

SXSW is known to attract thousands of musicians, artists and attendees from around the world. Last year, SXSW’s various events – including film screenings, music festivals and conferences – recorded a combined attendance of more than 417 000 with 159 000 coming for the music segment.

The first real scare of musical mass gatherings amid the COVID-19 outbreak happened on 28 February when New Zealand’s fourth coronavirus sufferer attended American prog rock band Tool’s concert in Auckland where he might have infected other fans.

SXSW is not the only major event to be cancelled due to the coronavirus. Other big events include Tomorrowland Music Festival (France) and Ultra Music Festival (US). A number of musicians have also cancelled their tours, including Khalid, Green Day and American heavy metal band Slipknot, which had upcoming shows in Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan. Mariah Carey has rescheduled her Honolulu appearance in Hawaii from March to November.

In Africa, veteran jazz musician Abdullah Ibrahim, 85, last week announced that he would no longer take part in the Cape Town International Jazz Festival due to the coronavirus. The two-day festival, which is one of the continent’s top music events, attracts a host of musicians from around the world and boasts more than 70 000 attendees. The festival organisers said they were going ahead with the event as South Africa confirmed its seventh coronavirus case on Monday.

“We respect the decision taken by the artist and the Cape Town International Jazz Festival remains committed to bringing the best in jazz and jazz-related music to the Mother City [Cape Town]," festival director Billy Domingo said. “The festival will be going ahead as planned on 27 and 28 March 2020 and we will announce a suitable replacement as soon as possible.”

Meanwhile, the International Nomad Festival in M'Hamid El Ghizlane, Morocco, has been cancelled after a national committee met on Sunday to consider the postponement of sports and cultural events.

“The decision [cancelling the event] was not easy to make,” International Nomad Festival director Noureddine Bougrab told Music In Africa in French. “It was a decision that broke our hearts but it was necessary to make it for everyone's safety.”

Morocco has reported two coronavirus cases thus far. The situation could also prompt the cancellation of the Mawazine music festival in Rabat this June. The festival is considered one of the world’s biggest music events with an attendance of 2.75 million in 2019.