Nyege Nyege Festival announces new location and line-up for 2022 event

Nyege Nyege Festival has announced a new location for its 2022 event, which runs 15th to 18th September and is its first in-person edition since 2019. 

The Ugandan festival’s seventh edition will be held on the banks of the Nile river, at Itanda Falls, a venue some five times larger than the previous home, which was also in the Jinja area. Check out the map of the festival’s new site below. 

The festival itself will once again focus attention on electronic music scenes across Africa, alongside sounds from the global diaspora and others. In total, 300 names will play across seven stages, including MC Yallah, Otim Alpha, Kampire, Phatstoki, MC Aunty Rayzor and DJ Travella. Kuduro pioneer, DJ Znobia, will play his first date outside Angola in 15 years, while Durban gqom group, Phelimuncasi, who dropped a new album on Nyege Nyege Tapes earlier this year, will also play.

Ghanian-Nigerian vocalist Adomaa and Kenya’s Kabeausché are also both on the bill. Meanwhile, Eko Roosevelt, a legendary Cameroonian musician, will perform with a 15-piece band to mark his 80th birthday. 

Artists from Europe and elsewhere feature too, including Juliana Huxtable, DJ Marcelle, Zoë McPherson, DJ Paypal, Low Jack, and French party collective Maraboutage. 

There will also be an extensive visual art offering, and a range of activities available, including bungee jumping, sunset cruises, and rafting. Sustainability practices  are also key, with the planting of bamboo offsetting carbon emissions and the wood being used to build on-site structures. New ways of utilising mushrooms in event production, including design and lighting, will be explored with the African Center for Radical Mycology. Additionally, a luxury camping area, Nyegeville, will feature, with lodges, hot showers, yoga classes, and a private beach.

“Finally we are back, with so many fresh acts to present and a growing fan base in East Africa ready to unleash the Nyege Nyege, by pushing toward a more environmentally friendly festival and always more inclusivity, with the new site we feel it opens a new exciting chapter in our story,” said a spokesperson from the crew. 

Tickets and more info for for the event are available here. Later this year, Nyege Nyege will host a showcase at acclaimed music and arts city festival No Bounds, in Sheffield, UK.