Buyel’ekhaya meaning “Going Back Home”, the festival is to take place in East London Absa Stadium, on the 15th of December.
One of the African artists that will be part of this event is Salif Keita who will be arriving in Johannesburg on the 12th of December. He will be sharing the stage with a lot of South African artists including; Vusi Mahlasela, Mi Casa, Zake Matwini, Zakwe, Zahara, Simphiwe Dana and many more.
The singer – supported by his core band of traditional musicians including Harouna Samake on Kamale N’Goni (kora) and Mamadou Kone on calabash (percussion) -will perform a special concert at the brand new Soweto Theatre in Jabulani.
Keita has been dubbed ‘The golden voice of Africa’ and a direct descendent of Sundiata Keita the Mandinka warrior king who founded the Malian empire in the 13th century, and gave up a lot to pursue his dream of becoming a musician.
Today he is one of Africa’s biggest music exports and one of the most recognised voices in world music. He has been instrumental in the fusion of traditional West African instruments with western jazz and rock; his collaborations with Carlos Santana and Cesaria Evora have become legendary.
Keita’s most recent releases include ‘La Difference’ in which he deals with issues of his albinism for the first time.
The album won Keita one of the biggest musical awards of his career, the Best World Music award at the Victoires de la Musique in 2010. He was highly praised for dealing with delicate subject matter and using his voice for a positive message. The singer has long been a Pan-Africanist, a convinced anti-racist, and militant pacifist.
