Artists

Alikiba Saleh Kiba was born in 1986. He is a Tanzanian recording artist, songwriter, dancer and actor. He is one of Tanzania’s biggest stars and his international reputation is rocketing.

Alikiba’s debut album Cinderella won the Kilimanjaro Music Award and was East Africa’s biggest selling record in 2008. He read more

PolePole is a Tanzanian-Finnish duo founded in 1998 in Helsinki, who in Zanzibar will be joined by a special guest artist, percussionist Samuli Majamäki. Their music is dominated by the ten stringed kantele played solo by Arnold Chiwalala (also the composer, arranger, playing flute and lead vocals) or combined with read more

 Ashimba is a Tanzanian singer-songwriter and guitarist based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. He released his debut album “Nuru Nyikani” (on Maisha Music label, produced by Jakob Poll) in January 2009.

His style is a combination of East African music, with elements of Afropop and acoustic music. In addition read more

The Babawatoto Centre for children and youth was established in 2006 in Makurumla, a densely populated suburb of Dar es Salaam city. The founder is Mr. Mgunga Mwa Mnyenyelwa, a renowned theatre practitioner who was also founder of the well-known theatre organization Parapanda Theatre. Babawatoto Centre aims to empower read more

Bahati Female Band are eight Tanzanian women who describe their music as a combination of afro-fusion, afro-pop and bongo flava. Some of the members used to work with Lumumba Theatre and other groups based in Dar es Salaam. They decided to establish their own group to focus on performing a variety of read more

The teachers and students of the Dhow Countries Music Academy (DCMA) come from different traditional music groups and represent the finest musicians Zanzibar has to offer. Within the context of the school the teachers have gathered to form a new and unique group: Baladna Taarab. This ensemble specializes in instrumental read more