SA: Somi, Thandiswa Mazwai and Msaki to headline Sankofa Heritage Fest

The festival was founded by musician and cultural activist Mazwai and coincides with her 50th birthday and 30 years in the music industry. Organisers have described the event as the first edition of an annual platform focused on African heritage and artistic legacy.

“I am so excited to have my dear friends Somi and Msaki as co-headliners for the inaugural year of Sankofa Fest,” Mazwai said. She described Somi as an artist whose work centres on archival memory, noting their previous collaboration on a project dedicated to Miriam Makeba, and referred to Msaki as “more than a musician”, citing her role in supporting younger artists. Mazwai added that Msaki would perform with an ensemble including artists from Sudan and Kenya.

Somi said her return to Johannesburg “to perform at Thandiswa Mazwai’s Sankofa Festival feels deeply personal. To be a part of the first iteration of a festival she has dreamed into being, grounded in memory, return, and forward motion, is an honour”, adding that the appearance would mark her first performance in South Africa in four years.

Somi is a vocalist, composer, actor and playwright, and the daughter of immigrants from Uganda and Rwanda. Her work includes Zenzile: The Reimagination of Miriam Makeba, a companion album to the musical Dreaming Zenzile, which she wrote and performed Off-Broadway. Her awards include the Doris Duke Artist Award and two NAACP Image Awards for Best Vocal Jazz Album.

Msaki is a composer, singer, songwriter, curator and visual artist. She has won a South African Music Award and contributed as a writer and composer to Black Coffee’s Grammy Award-winning album. She was named the 2022 Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year for Music and is part of the 2025 South African Pavilion at the Venice Biennale.

Mazwai will also headline and curate the festival programme, with additional guest artists expected to join her performance. Further names are yet to be announced.

Opening acts competition

In parallel with the main programme, the festival has launched an opening act competition aimed at emerging traditional musicians, groups and bands working within indigenous African musical forms. Entries close on 31 January, with winners to be announced on 11 February. Competition details are available here.

The Sankofa Heritage Festival takes its name from the concept of “Sankofa”, commonly interpreted as returning to the past to inform the future. The inaugural edition is supported by the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture through its Mzansi Golden Economy initiative.

Tickets are available through Computicket. Find kore information about Sankofa Heritage Festival here.