The Ebubeleni Music Festival has grown in momentum in its eleven years – proudly selling out for the first time in 2018, with 24,000 music lovers filling the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium fields to hear from popular artists. We’re here to fill you in on which acts to look out for – as well as give you a quick overview of what this festival is all about.
A Friendly Place
The name, Ebubeleni, means a friendly place in isiZulu – a nod to the Friendly City which hosts the festival. It is billed as a three-day cultural extravaganza, featuring performers across several disciplines, like comedy and various genres of music. The goal of this festival is to leverage arts and culture to promote local tourism – something it’s undoubtedly done as it has grown to national acclaim.
100% Homegrown
One thing you can absolutely count on is that all talent you’ll see on the Ebubeleni stage is proudly South African. In fact, there are quite a few in the lineup that call Gqeberha home as well – guess that saves on lugging musical equipment across the country! We know these performers will do South Africa proud and having them up there is a reason to be excited!
The Golden African Queen
Getting to the lineup that you can expect to see at this year’s Ebubeleni Music Festival, what better place to start than with royalty? Ndivhudzannyi Ralivhona, or Makhadzi as her loyal fanbase know her as, started her performance career at the tender age of 12 – getting noticed in school, signing her contract, and releasing her first album by age 19. Her ninth album, Kokovha, is her biggest success, debuting at number one in South Africa’s iTunes charts when it was released in 2019. She followed this up with her 2020 album, African Queen, which went certified gold. In short, Makhadzi is a fantastic artist coming to the Ebubeleni stage and you shouldn’t miss it!
Smooth Jazz
If you’re looking for something a bit smoother and lower-key, Ebubeleni has a fantastic jazz section. Mandisi Dyantyis is one artist to look out for, a Gqeberha resident who took up trumpet at age 8, culminating in graduating from UCT with a BMus Honours in Jazz Studies. But it definitely isn’t all head knowledge – Dyantyis has been in and around the music industry for ages, working with top local and international talent, taking on roles like composer, arranger and producer. Smooth jazz is incoming!
No Gasmasks Needed
Ntokozo Mdluli aka K.O is a fantastic representation of South Africa’s rap scene. His dream of making it was thrown into doubt at an early age when he struggled to find work and his parents were funding his demos. His mom sent his CV to the South African Police Service, but K.O had a different kind of teargas in mind.
The group’s rise to fame was only the beginning though, with K.O turning his focus to a solo career. His first solo album, Skhanda Republic, debuted at #1 and went certified platinum. K.O will be bringing some of that flow to the Ebubeleni stage this year – can’t wait!
So, as you can tell, this is going to be a star-studded year at Ebubeleni Music Festival – and this was only three of the acts! Imagine what the full program has in store for South African music fans?! Ebubeleni has become something of a cultural pilgrimage for some, and a must-attend year-end vibe for others. Whatever your reasoning, it’s important to stay somewhere safe and nearby – and we know the place.
We have 5 hotels in and around this area, across all four of our hotel brands – meaning you have full choice of how comfortable or affordable you’d like your stay to be. Even better, all 5 hotels are within 8 kilometres of the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium and are a relatively straight drive down Settlers Highway to get there, so driving yourself is simple too! Take a look where you could be staying while you have a great time at Ebubeleni! Explore these hotels here:
Courtyard Hotel Port Elizabeth.