Founded in 2017 by alumni of the Dhow Countries Music Academy (DCMA), Stone Town Rockerz blend blues, afrobeat and spiritual reggae vibes with local Tanzanian languages, flavours and spice.

Inspired by Remmy Ongala, Siti bint Saad, Bi Kidude, Miriam Makeba, Fela Kuti, B.B. King, Bob Marley and Ali Farka Toure, the band has developed their own style, based on songs that speak meaningfully to the people of East Africa and beyond.

“Stone Town Rockerz remind me of Mali’s famous orchestra, Les Ambassadeurs du Motel, in an old black and white TV clip I once saw. The lead singer looks dapper in his white linen shirt and trousers, black Homburg and natty dreads, as he serves up his honey-soaked tunes straight from the poppier end of the Motown spectrum. The music feels light, easy, delightful, like the islands that gave it birth”.

• Andy Morgan, The Arts Desk (UK)