Africa Oyé has announced another group of artists for its 2026 festival in Liverpool’s Sefton Park, with Ghorwane, Kobo Town and Awale Jant Band joining the lineup.
The event will take place on June 20 and 21, 2026, in Sefton Park. The newly confirmed acts join previously announced names including Fatoumata Diawara, Patoranking and Janet Kay.
First, Mozambique’s Ghorwane will bring their 40th-anniversary tour to Liverpool. The Maputo band, formed in 1983, remains one of the country’s most established groups. Peter Gabriel invited Ghorwane to WOMAD in 1990, and Real World Records later released the band’s album Majurugenta in 1993. However, tragedy struck before the group’s European tour when saxophonist and composer Zeca Alage was murdered. Since then, the band has continued to perform internationally. Ghorwane are scheduled to appear on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Kobo Town will represent Trinidad on Sunday’s bill. Led by Trinidadian-Canadian Drew Gonsalves, the group combines calypso, reggae, and ska. Kobo Town takes its name from a historic Port of Spain neighborhood linked to the origins of calypso. Their most recent album is Where The Galleon Sank.
Also set for Sunday, Awale Jant Band adds a London-based project with Senegalese roots to the festival. The group was founded by singer Birame Seck and French musician Thibaut Remy. Their music combines elements of Afrobeat, mbalax, reggae and highlife, with an emphasis on Wolof storytelling and rhythms from the Senegambian region.
More about the festival: africaoye.com
Author: World Music Central News Room
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