The French Embassy in Mzansi will be taking over the city of Joburg on Saturday, 18 June.
The embassy with its department, the French Institute of South Africa (IFAS), are hosting 26 musical acts in six stages around four venues in Jozi, all in one day.
The Fete De La Musique concert will take place in Newtown Junction in Joburg, Victoria Yards in Lorentzville, Alliance Francaise in Parkview and Native Rebels in Jabavu, Soweto.
There will be performances from musicians and bands such as Letoya Makhene, Brenda Mtambo, Bonga Kwana, Farai Matake, Vinnie Mak, Black Heidi, and iPhupho L’Ka Biko.
The deputy director of IFAS, Sophie Boule told SunBuzz more about the concert.
“This is a French concept that was started in 1982. It is a popular free festival that takes place in the streets all over the country, annually.
“It’s usually jazz, reggae, hip hop and more. We brought it to South Africa in 2010 and we’ve been doing it ever since,” she said.
Some of the 26 acts were picked from 300 musicians who auditioned to be part of the show.
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“What’s interesting and unique about the line-up is that we call for applications. We always want to discover South African musicians.
“They applied in April and we chose musicians who had good music and a great stage performance,” she said.
Sophie said choosing the performers wasn’t easy.
“We are excited to have picked our largest group yet this year.
“The process was tough because there was such a diverse range of applications to choose from. Some daring, some emotional, some loud, some soulful, but all extremely passionate. We were blown away by the dynamic and surprising entries that really pushed the envelope,” she wrote.
“Every year, the jury tries to select broadly across genres to create a melting pot of musical sounds. Luckily this year we were able to choose more acts to grow the festival and give more artists the opportunity to shine,” she said. Entry is free.
