The Ugandan festival returns in hybrid fashion this September with events both on and offline.
Nyege Nyege Festival are hosting an online African art and music showcase this September.
Working in collaboration with African Digital Art founder Jepchumba, the festival will be launching a new platform to host four days of virtual shows and installations. 20 collectives from across the continent, including Accra's Jowaa Asokpor Corner and Abidjan-based party La Sunday, will curate special showcases, adding up to deliver a genre-spanning and Pan-African celebration of music.
While the full digital lineup won't be released until the event starts, five international collectives will also participate, including artists from Lisbon label Príncipe, Montreal's Moonshine crew and Palestinian online station Radio Al Hara. In addition to DJ and live sets, the site will also feature comedy, films and a performance art program curated by artist Violaine Le Fur.
In tandem with the digital version, which will run from September 3rd to 6th, an in-person festival in Uganda will also occur. Generally held on Nile Discovery Beach in Jinja, this year's location hasn't been announced as organizers wait for an August update from the country's health ministry on COVID-19 safety regulations for public gatherings.
"It might be two it might be 2,000 [people], maybe we will be tested, maybe we will have to wash our hands and wear masks, that part is COMPLETELY UNKNOWN. And that, as an event organizer is the worst possible scenario," the festival said in a recent Facebook post discussing how it will function amid the coronavirus pandemic.
A separate lineup has been announced for the physical edition, which includes DJs like Catu Diosis and Kampire as well as live sets from other Nyege Nyege Label affiliates like MC Yallah, Otim Alpha and HHY & Kampala Unit.
Revisit Aaron Coultate's in-depth feature feature on Nyege Nyege from 2017.
Ticketing information will be released via their website on July 15th, in the meantime check out highlights from Nyege Nyege Festival 2019.