The organisers of Shoko Festival have announced the names of artists who will headline the 12th edition of this year’s event in Harare, Zimbabwe, from 27 September to 1 October.
They include local acts Freeman, Kikky Badass and Voltz JT. They will be joined by Tanto Wavie, Brian Jeck, and Luminous as well as international artists DJ Lady Light (Zambia) and Mozambique’s TMRS AwaGe and Rhodalia Silvestre.
The festival will be held across venues in Harare and Chitungwiza, with the main festival hub being Moto Republik. It will run under the theme PARTYcipate, which is a clarion call to encourage young people to be part of public processes that define their future.
“This year at Shoko we want to celebrate our amazing local acts,” Shoko Festival director Comrade Fatso said. “We want to show that local is legit. During the two years of lockdowns and a pandemic, our Zimbabwean artists were the ones who kept us entertained and motivated while we were stuck at home.
“At the same time the local arts sector suffered massively due to a lack of live shows with venues being closed. So this year all our headline acts are proudly Zimbabwean as we salute the power of our artists. So come through and PARTYcipate.”
Some of the events lined up at this year’ festival include the Voice 2 Rep Watch Party, Women’s Cypher, Mash Up Night, the Roast of Temba Mliswa and the main event, Peace in the Hood, in Chitungwiza. The Voice 2 Rep Watch Party at Moto Republik will be held on 27 September and is presented in partnership with Accountability Lab Zimbabwe.
The Women’s Cypher will be held at Zimbabwe German Society on 28 September and is designed to celebrate African women in hip hop. It will feature TMRS AwaGe, DJ Lady Light, Mary Jane and Lisa Afonso with DJ Fafi on the decks as well as an all-female band.
Mash Up Night will take place at Moto Republik on 29 September and will feature never-seen before musical collaborations and will be shut down by headline act Voltz JT.
Simuka Comedy will be held at Reps Theatre on 30 September, with the roast of Norton member of Parliament Temba Mliswa. It will also feature self-proclaimed prophet Madungwe, Vimbai Zimuto, Lorraine Guyo, Sokostina, Ckanyiso Dat Guy, Bustop TV’s Lucky Aaron and Comrade Fatso. The final day of the festival, dubbed Peace in the Hood, will be held at Unit L in Chitungwiza on 1 October featuring headlining acts Freeman and Kikky Badass.
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