Thandiswa Mazwai Set to Launch the First-ever Sankofa Heritage Festival This February

Multi-award-winning South African musician and cultural icon Thandiswa Mazwai is set to launch the Sankofa Heritage Festival, a new annual event celebrating African heritage, music and community. The inaugural festival takes place on Saturday, 28 February 2026 at Carnival City, coinciding with Thandiswa’s 50th birthday and marks three decades of her extraordinary contribution to the music industry:

What is the Sankofa Heritage Festival about?

Mazwai founded the Sankofa Heritage Festival with the intention to preserve, celebrate and re-imagine indigenous African musical traditions. Drawing inspiration from ancestral rhythms, each performance is designed to bridge the past, present and future of African sound, creating a powerful shared cultural experience.

“There is a need for more artist-curated festivals that centre music, freedom and community,” says Mazwai. “I am creating this festival not only to give space to upcoming artists, but to celebrate our cultures and collective humanity.”

Sankofa Heritage Festival in Johannesburg | What's on in Joburg

Confirmed artist line-up for February 2026

Headlining the evening will be Thandiswa Mazwai herself, joined by a strong line-up of artists spanning generations and geographies. Grammy-nominated vocalist Somi (Rwanda/Uganda) and acclaimed South African musician Msaki will serve as co-headliners for the festival’s inaugural edition.

“I am so excited to have my dear friends Somi and Msaki as co-headliners for the first year of Sankofa Fest,” says Mazwai. “They have been sisters to me for many years, and we’ve shared stages around the world.”

Somi is a vocalist, composer, actor and playwright whose work centres on African archives and storytelling. Her fifth studio album, Zenzile: The Reimagination of Miriam Makeba, accompanied her critically acclaimed Off-Broadway musical Dreaming Zenzile.

Msaki is a SAMA-winning composer, singer-songwriter, curator and visual artist. She contributed to Black Coffee’s Grammy Award-winning album and was named the 2022 Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year for Music. For the Sankofa Heritage Festival, she will perform with a special ensemble featuring artists from Sudan and Kenya.

Supporting the next generation of African musicians

In keeping with its heritage-driven ethos, the Sankofa Heritage Festival has launched an opening act competition aimed at traditional musicians, groups and bands. The initiative hopes to spotlight emerging talent rooted in indigenous African musical forms, offering a major platform for the next generation of cultural practitioners.

Thandiswa Mazwai celebrates 30 years in music

Sankofa Heritage Festival marks two major milestones in Thandiswa Mazwai’s life: her 50th birthday and 30 years in the music industry. From her early success with Bongo Maffin to her acclaimed solo career, Mazwai has consistently pushed boundaries, blending traditional African sounds with jazz, soul and electronic influences.

“It’s almost unbelievable that I am turning 50 and that I’ve spent more than half my life in music,” she says. “My first radio hit was 30 years ago with a group called Jacknife, and I’m honoured to still be one of the top SAMA-nominated artists for my album Sankofa. I have been truly blessed.”

Her album Sankofa has earned five South African Music Award nominations, further cementing Mazwai’s enduring relevance and creative power.