African Music - under African Skies. Sauti za Busara is the annual music event in East Africa and widely known as ‘the friendliest festival on the planet’. The 9th edition of Sauti za Busara takes place
8 – 12 February 2012, featuring:
400 musicians: that’s forty groups, with twenty from Tanzania and twenty from other parts of Africa; urban and rural, acoustic and electric, established and upcoming.
Carnival Street Parade: setting alight the streets on Day 1, the biggest parade to hit Stone Town, including beni brass band, ngoma drummers, mwanandege umbrella women, stilt-walkers, capoeira dancers, acrobats… and surprises.
Four nights in the historic Old Fort: In Stone Town, the main programme continues Thursday through Sunday with non-stop 100% live performances (no playback!) daily from 5pm until 1am.
African Music Films: documentaries, music clips, videos and live concert footage.
Swahili Encounters: Four days of artistic collaborations, for invited local and visiting musicians who get to re-interpret Swahili songs and present these on the main stage.
Seminars and Training Workshops: Building skills for artists, managers, music journalists, filmmakers, sound and lighting technicians from the East Africa region.
Movers & Shakers: Daily networking forum for local and visiting arts professionals.
Festival marketplace: local food and drinks, music, jewellery, clothing and handicrafts.
Busara Xtra: Around the festival, the island is buzzing with a range of fringe events: traditional ngoma drum and dance, fashion shows, dhow races, open-mic sessions, after-parties and performances of Zanzibar’s oldest Taarab orchestras are all arranged by the local community.