The National Arts Festival is turning up the volume this
year with once-in-a-lifetime concerts, impromptu jam sessions and exuberant
choral collaboration. The 2026 programme spans a wide variety of genres from
gospel and indigenous music to Afro-pop, pan-African collectives, and
everything in between, across the Curated Programme, the Fringe and independent
venues.
First Weekend:
Eastern Cape Celebration & Standard Bank Young Artist Spotlight
Friday June 26 kicks off with a truly Eastern Cape
celebration. For this special production, The Bala Family will be joined by 120
voices from the local Masicule Youth Choir, with a special appearance by their
mother, Mam V, in one of the songs. Goosebumps all round.
Saturday June 27 afternoon
The Soweto String Quartet returns to the Festival with
Strings of the Nation: 30 Years of Soweto String Quartet with special guest
artist, Maḓuvha. The concert takes audiences on a journey through their
10-studio-album legacy, featuring iconic tracks like Mbube, Kwela, Weeping and Timbuktu, alongside fresh compositions reflecting their evolution.
Saturday June 27 evening:
See https://nationalartsfestival.co.za/from-matjieshuts-to-ai-opera-the-national-arts-festivals-programme-reveal/
MUSIC AT NAF 2026:
From Choirs to Afro-pop, Classics to Pan-African Collectives
The online box office is open for booking. If you’re
planning to catch some music here’s the scoop on what to look for when those
digital doors open!
FIRST WEEKEND:
EASTERN CAPE CELEBRATION & STANDARD BANK YOUNG ARTIST
SPOTLIGHT
Saturday June 27 evening:
South African bassist, composer, and producer Concord
Nkabinde brings decades of musical excellence to the stage, featuring guest
artist, Phoebe Mgxaji. A 2006 Standard Bank Young Artist Award winner for Jazz,
Concord has collaborated with legends spanning generations and continents: from
Abdullah Ibrahim, Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, and Johnny Clegg to
international artists Roy Ayers, Lionel Loueke and Phil Manzanera. His
cross-cultural projects have taken South African sounds to Brazil, China,
Finland, Norway and beyond.
Saturday June 27 late
evening:
Standard Bank Young Artist for Music 2026, Ndumiso Manana,
presents Pulchritudinous: The Beauty of
the Journey. For the first time, Manana performs with a full band and
three-piece horn section, creating a rich soundscape that traces an emotional
narrative from his debut EP In the
Beginning Was the End to 2025's OBHM:
Full Stop. The eSwatini-born SAMA winner has collaborated with Usher, Tyla,
Nasty C, Cynthia Erivo, and contributed to Burna Boy's Grammy-winning Twice As
Tall.
Sunday June 28 afternoon:
Eastern Cape-born gospel sensation Betusile Mcinga brings
the sound of home to the Festival. Son of award-winning gospel artist Lusanda
Mcinga, Betusile has carved his own path with a powerful voice that's made him
a church fixture across South Africa. His breakthrough hit Ngena Noah earned Song of the Year at the 2023 Metro FM Music Awards,
while Zundithwale took the same honour at the Crown Gospel Awards.
SECOND WEEKEND:
FROM AFRO-POP TO PAN-AFRICAN CELEBRATION
Friday July 3 evening:
Get the party started with Afro-pop sensations Nomfundo Moh
and Nontokozo Mkhize. These rising stars blend contemporary pop with deep
traditional roots. Nomfundo Moh's breakout hit Phakade Lami (featuring Sha Sha and Ami Faku) became an instant
classic, while Nontokozo Mkhize's collaborations with Master KG and
chart-topping releases deliver powerhouse performances. Expect Friday night
energy that kicks off the final weekend in style
Saturday July 4 afternoon:
2026 Standard Bank Young Artist for Jazz, Gabi Motuba,
presents The Sounds of a Black Girl - a
bold sonic statement centring vocal improvisation while traversing spiritual
jazz and neo soul. Following her acclaimed album The Sabbath, Motuba claims new musical territory through expansive
experimentation. Rooted in jazz as philosophy rather than genre, she dissolves
traditional boundaries. "Jazz exists in my philosophy. It is my way of
life and my style," she reflects. Drawing on the Zen proverb "the
finger pointing to the moon is not the moon," she frames jazz as threshold
rather than limit—an invitation to transcend form.
Saturday July 4 evening:
Msaki and the ALTBLK>> Pan-African Collective. The
2022 Standard Bank Young Artist for Music is a KuGompo-born artist who defies
categorisation—composer, singer, songwriter, visual artist and cultural
architect. Racking up some award-winning collaborations with Black Coffee,
Prince Kaybee, Sun-El, and Jesse Clegg, Msaki has become one of South Africa's
most distinctive voices. Through ALTBLK>> CONTINUA, the artist
development platform she founded, she supports independent musicians across the
continent. For this performance, she brings together artists from the
ALTBLK>> community—a pan-African collective rooted in care, creative
autonomy and the belief that artists should be "independent, but not alone,"
for an inspiring African celebration.
JAZZ RECALIBRATION
& YOUTH VOICES
Jazz programming at the National Arts Festival is being
recalibrated for 2027 and beyond. The National Youth Jazz Festival and jazz
programme, independently produced by Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions, is taking a
pause this year. While there will be no jazz at DSG this year, jazz remains
woven throughout the NAF programme, with performances from Standard Bank Young
Artist for Jazz Gabi Motuba, collaborative platform Kids Love Jazz, who will
bring three shows to the festival and artists including Ofentse Sebula, Nubam and Amongst
The People I Know, as well as jazz-influenced work across multiple venues
on the Fringe including Live with ICON Tshedi Malaika, which sees former
Malaika vocalist Matshediso Mholo, team up with Maleh and Viwo Kulati, as well
as Isibane (The Light) by Liso the Musician and Spha and the band presents:
Usizolwethu (The Musical Journey To Self Love).
Housed in a deposed power station in Makhanda, The Black
Power Station is a year-round venue and project that operates as a shared
identity space where artists can express themselves freely without judgment or
compromise. It’s grown in popularity during NAF and is now a strong independent
festival within the Festival. The Black Power Station honours mam’ uMadosini
this year with artists like Internet Athi and Phila Dlozi, Buhlebendalo and
KHNYSA + The Light present ISINGQI SeNyikima to add to a long list yet to be
announced.
ON THE FRINGE:
CHORAL TO CABARET,
CLASSICAL TO SPIRITUAL
The Fringe music programme spans every genre. From
Makhanda's beloved Kwantu Choir, who will once again bring their power and
passion to the Festival, to a wide range of cabaret and musical theatre
concerts. These include King Cetshwayo
The Musical, Journey of Oom Khris,
Brenda and I, Call Me a Diva and Bhisho
Massacre. Not to be left out, classical and instrumental music will be out
in force with, among others, PentaFusion and That's The Way It Goes: Music for
Saxophone and Piano. Traditional and spiritual music, in many of the South
African languages, is a hallmark of the Fringe festival’s music programme.
Shows ahead include ISIBANE (THE LIGHT) and the Ubuhle Bendalo Indigenous
Ensemble. The Fringe music programme will gravitate around the Great Hall (with
some exceptions) joining a line-up from the Curated Programme and late-night DJ
sets.
The Eastern Cape Showcase, which includes music from the region will be announced in the weeks to come.
Book those tickets at www.nationalartsfestival.co.za