Artists

Sandra Nankoma is a singer-songwriter and graduate of fine arts from Uganda. Her distinctive vocals cover jazz, soul music and ballads with a unique identity that breaks codes and pushes boundaries.

In 2017, Nankoma was awarded Best Artist, Africa and the Caribbean by the Visa Pour la Creation project. This led read more

Shabo Makota is an Afrofusion musician and guitarist from Tanzania, who is also gifted with a unique and bittersweet voice.

He began singing in 2002, aged 16, and has played with various music groups in Bagamoyo and Dar es Salaam. Shabo says he was greatly inspired by the late Papa Wemba, read more

Almost a century ago, Zanzibari singer Siti Binti Saad reimagined what had been formal court music into a private form of improvisation, laced with a spirit of inclusivity that combined Arabic and Swahili lyrics. In doing so, she paved the way for other female taarab singers, including Bi Kidude.

In turn, read more

Stone Town Rockerz features band members from various parts of Tanzania mainland and Zanzibar, who met and joined at the Dhow Countries Music Academy. With their diverse cultural influences, this makes their music unique as they also combine local rhythms with afrobeat and Latino and western styles such as rock, read more

TaraJazz, Zanzibar. This exciting young band of musical explorers is on a mission, improvising, sharing and responding to new sounds. At the group’s core is jazz, real, live and uncompromising. This is a unique blend that brings elements of Zanzibari taarab with its Arabic, African and Eastern influences and rhythmical read more

Christopher ‘Tofa Boy’ Antony is a young and talented student from Dhow Countries Music Academy (DCMA) Zanzibar. Presenting an energetic cocktail of African popular music styles including bongo flava and Afro-fusion, Tofa Boy is a vibrant and upbeat artist. He composes his own songs and delivers these with passion, from read more