Zahara, Maya Kamaty and more for Azgo in Mozambique

Bringing together a diverse and quality programme of music, film, and dance, Azgo (local slang for 'let´s go') serves as a platform for emerging and acclaimed artists to collaborate and meet new audiences. The festival is a contemporary celebration of arts and culture, with a strong focus on artists from Mozambique and around Africa.

Since its inception in 2011, Azgo has hosted artists from throughout Southern Africa, as well as Senegal, Burkina Faso, Reunion Island, Cape Verde and Madagascar, and from further afield such as Europe, Australasia, Japan and the US. In doing so Azgo also creates new opportunities for exchange between national and international artists through workshops and collaborations.

From the region, Azgo this year will host South African songbird Zahara, who will headline the night of Saturday 21. She will join local Mozambican stars such as Mr Bow, who will show the audience why he is indeed Mozambique’s number 1 pop star at the moment; reggae/dub act Gran’mah, fresh from a sold-out launch of their debut album at the local French-Mozambican Cultural Centre in Maputo (Centro Cultural Franco Moçambicano - CCFM); and Neyma, who fuses marrabenta, coupé-décalé, kizomba and traditional Mozambican rhythms to create a unique sound.

From Reunion Island, Azgo will welcome globe-trotting singer Maya Kamaty and her band, who weave dreamy French pop and maloya.

From further afield, Azgo will welcome New Zealand’s rising star Estère, who plays a mixture of instruments with pulsating rhythms and evocative melodies that adhere to a unique genre she calls ‘electric blue witch hop’. Coming from Somalia via Canada, Azgo will host 'doom soul' artist Cold Specks, whose masterful and wholly original debut was shortlisted for a Juno award and Polaris Prize. From Australia Azgo welcomes bass-heavy roof-raisers Kingfisha, who craft weighty reggae and dub music by coupling their love of Jamaican rhythms with personal depth and style. Rounding out the festival’s initial artist announcement is HMB, a fresh R&B act from Portugal.

More artists are expected to be added to the line-up soon.


Tickets are on sale now for 900 MTS ($17) per day or 1400 ($27) for the whole weekend. VIP tickets are 1600 MTS ($32) for one day and 2700 ($53) for both. Tickets are on sale now from local Computicket outlets or online via Bilhetes Online and Entradas.

For more information check out the Azgo website or Facebook page. Revisit highlights from last year’s festival by reading here or watching the video below.