Features
Songlines Summer Festival Guide 2025
The sun has finally arrived and the festival line-ups are coming in thick and fast, so here’s our guide to some of the best festivals showcasing global artists in the UK and around the world this summer
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Features
Welcome to Africa’s largest music festival – Nyege Nyege
At the heart of Uganda’s vibrant, innovative and optimistic music scene, ‘Africa’s largest music festival’ Nyege Nyege continues to surprise and delight
Live reviews
Park Jiha and Roy Claire Potter Bring Saenghwangs and Spoken Word to Cafe OTO
Korean multi-instrumentalist and British performance poet showcase work from their newly released collaboration
News
Obituary: Lee 'Scratch' Perry (1936-2021)
The Jamaican record producer and singer famed for his innovative studio alchemy is remembered
Features
Gaye Su Akyol: fantasy is reality
Gaye Su Akyol is taking the world by storm with her psychedelic, surrealist take on Turkish rock. She tells Robert Rigney how she bridges worlds: between East and West, fantasy and reality, old and new
Features
Setting the Scene: Elana Sasson
Fresh from the release of her ambitious ensemble album, In Between, the singer-composer waxes lyrical about cultural life in her new home of Valencia
Live reviews
Samba-Festival Coburg review
Every year, the sleepy town of Coburg is overrun with musicians, dancers, and music fans for the largest samba festival outside of Brazil
News
Arooj Aftab, Tinariwen and Nitin Sawhney provide powerful playing, frenzied crowd-pleasers and plenty of laughs at Polygon Live LDN
The sonically enhanced environs of Polygon Live LDN created the perfect atmosphere for a bevy of musical icons to conjure and connect
Artists
DakhaBrakha
The Ukrainian folk quartet with with rebellious and anarchic spirit are a formidable live act
News
Sounds and Colours launch anniversary fundraising campaign
The Sounds and Colours team are marking their tenth anniversary with a special fundraising campaign
Features
Spotlight: Mexican Institute of Sound
Camilo Lara, by now a ‘certified’ Mexican institution, tells Celeste Cantor-Stephens about 20 years of going against the grain, upsetting scrap collectors and Disney-endorsed success
Live reviews
Jazz Sous Les Pommiers, Coutances, France, May 16-20
The annual week-long jazz festival in France featured DakhaBrakha, Femi Kuti, Noura Mint Seymali, Antonio Lizana and Robert Cray
News
Angélique Kidjo to perform 40th anniversary concert at Royal Albert Hall as part of EFG London Jazz Festival
Beninese singer-songwriter Angélique Kidjo will return to the Royal Albert Hall on November 17 for a celebration of her 40-year career.
Features
Franck Biyong: “I just want to tear down the barrier that separates African music from the mainstream”
Frustrated by the state of popular African music, Franck Biyong decided to create his own ‘Afrolectric’ sound inspired by Le Grand Kallé, Fela Kuti, Manu Dibango and the greats of yesteryear
Features
Seeking recognition for Billy Waters, a pioneer of African-American music, more than 200 years after his death
When African-American musician Billy Waters died in London in 1823, it was in poverty and with his reputation in tatters. Now, 200 years later, researchers and musicians are finally ensuring he gets the respect he deserves
