The National Arts Festival has unveiled its 2026 music programme, featuring highly anticipated new works from Standard Bank Young Artists alongside gospel sensations, Afro-pop stars, the Soweto String Quartet's 30th anniversary celebration and pan-African collective performances.
The programme spans the duration of the Festival with two big weekends of curated highlights for Festival lovers to enjoy, plus Fringe concerts ranging from choral and gospel to cabaret, classical and traditional spiritual music – and the return of popular independent programme The Black Power Station.
Highlights include the performances of Gabi Motuba (2026 Standard Bank Young Artist for Jazz) and Manana (2026 Standard Bank Young Artist for Music), to fresh sounds from Nomfundo Moh and Nontokozo Mkhize, and a touch of nostalgia with The Soweto String Quartet and jazz legend Concord Nkabinde, and a powerful Pan-African twist from Msaki. Gospel and choir are strong with The Bala Family with the Masicule Youth Choir and Betusile Mcinga concerts.
Jazz programming at the National Arts Festival is being recalibrated for 2027, and beyond. The National Youth Jazz Festival, independently produced by Eastern Cape Jazz Promotions, will not be presented this year. That means that there will be no jazz at DSG in 2026. Alan Webster, Director of the National Youth Jazz Festival, explained: "We’re pausing the National Youth Jazz Festival for this year as we take steps to restructure and solidify the nation’s premier jazz development programme that has been so influential in the development of jazz in this country. We will be back in 2027.”
Jazz remains woven throughout the NAF programme however, with performances from Standard Bank Young Artist for Jazz, Gabi Motuba, a concert from Concorde Nkabinde and the festival debut of Kids Love Jazz; a movement that brings young people to jazz and young jazz artists to stages. There is also jazz on the Fringe.
The Fringe spans diverse genres, styles and language. A new venue at the Great Hall will stage much of the Fringe music and will feature late-night DJ sets too. The independent programme at The Black Power Station continues to be a magnet for young audiences who gravitate there for the curation of great music from urban and rural South Africa - as well as community and conversation. Says The Black Power Station’s curator and director, Xolile ‘X’ Madinda, “As we do every year, The Black Power Station honours a black female musician at the Festival. This year we remember mam’ uMadosini.” Among the artists who will interpret her works are Internet Athi and Phila Dlozi, Buhlebendalo and KHNYSA + The Light present ISINGQI SeNyikima.
Tickets for the full National Arts Festival programme go on sale 20 May 2026 at www.nationalartsfestival.co.za
MUSIC PROGRAMME: WHAT'S ON & WHEN
WEEKEND ONE (26 - 28 June)
FRIDAY 26 JUNE
The Bala Family with the Masicule Youth Choir
20:00 | Guy Butler Theatre
For this special production, The Bala Family will be joined by 120 voices from the local Masicule Youth Choir, with a special appearance by the Bala Family’s matriarch, Mam V, in one of the songs — making the evening an emotional and unforgettable family celebration. Goosebumps all round.
SATURDAY 27 JUNE
Soweto String Quartet: Strings of the Nation (30 Years)
12:00 - | Guy Butler Theatre
This special concert (that repeats on Sunday) takes audiences on a journey through the bands 10-studio-album legacy, featuring iconic tracks like Mbube, Kwela, Weeping and Timbuktu, alongside fresh compositions reflecting their evolution. Featuring special guest artist, Maḓuvha.
Concord Nkabinde
19:00 | Guy Butler Theatre
South African bassist, composer, producer and 2006 Standard Bank Young Artist Award winner for Jazz, Nkabinde has collaborated with Abdullah Ibrahim, Miriam Makeba, Hugh Masekela, Johnny Clegg, Roy Ayers, Lionel Loueke and Phil Manzanera and participated in cross-cultural projects spanning Brazil, China, Finland, Norway and beyond. He returns to the NAF with a dedicated concert this year featuring guest artist, Phoebe Mgxaji.
Ndumiso Manana: Pulchritudinous - The Beauty of the Journey (Standard Bank Young Artist for Music 2026)
21:00 | Great Hall
For the first time, Manana performs with his full band and three-piece horn section to mark his Standard Bank Young Artist year. Manana is a SAMA winner, Spotify Radar honoree and contributor to Burna Boy's Grammy-winning Twice As Tall, with collaborations that include Usher, Tyla, Nasty C, and Cynthia Erivo under his belt.
SUNDAY 28 JUNE
Betusile Mcinga
14:00 | Guy Butler Theatre
Eastern Cape-born gospel sensation. Betusile is the winner of a Metro FM Music Awards 2023 Song of the Year (for Ngena Noah) and the Crown Gospel Awards Song of the Year (Zundithwale), he’ll be blending traditional Eastern Cape choral influences with contemporary gospel.
Soweto String Quartet
18:30 | Guy Butler Theatre
Second concert.
WEEKEND TWO (3 - 5 July)
FRIDAY 3 JULY
Nomfundo Moh and Nontokozo Mkhize
19:00 | Guy Butler Theatre
Get ready for Afro-pop sensations; Nomfundo Moh's (whose breakout hit Phakade Lami featured Sha Sha and Ami Faku) and Nontokozo Mkhize, who counts Master KG as a collaborator and has notched up some impressive chart-topping releases. This is the Friday night energy that kicks off the final weekend.
Gabi Motuba: The Sounds of a Black Girl (Standard Bank Young Artist for Jazz 2026)
16:00 | Great Hall
Expect a bold sonic statement centering vocal improvisation that traverses spiritual jazz and neo soul, following her acclaimed album The Sabbath. "Jazz exists in my philosophy. It is my way of life and my style," Motuba reflects. Drawing on the Zen proverb "the finger pointing to the moon is not the moon," she frames jazz as threshold rather than limit.
Msaki & Alt>Blk Pan-African Collective
19:00 | Guy Butler
The multi-talented 2022 Standard Bank Young Artist for Music, Msaki has award-winning collaborations with Black Coffee, Prince Kaybee, Sun-El and Jesse Clegg behind her, but her passion extends to other musicians too. She founded ALTBLK>>CONTINUA to support independent musicians across the continent and what results is an-African collective rooted in care, creative autonomy and the belief that artists should be "independent, but not alone." Msaki will lead this concert with a line-up of artists to be announced soon.
Kids Love Jazz
TUESDAY, 30 June I 18:30
WEDNESDAY, 1 July I 20:30
FRIDAY, 3 July I 20:30
Beethoven Room
Driven by young energy and social media, this viral national movement is opening access and cultivating a love for jazz for younger audiences and musicians. With three shows, featuring artists like Ofentse Sebula, Nubam, Amongst The People I Know and others, Kids Love Jazz is making their debut at NAF with a call to young audiences to come and join the party.
The Black Power Station
Housed in a deposed power station in Makhanda, The Black Power Station is a year round venue and project that operates as a shared identity space where artists can express themselves freely without judgment or compromise. It’s grown in popularity during NAF over recent years and is now a strong independent festival within the Festival. The Black Power Station honours mam’ uMadosini this year with artists like Internet Athi and Phila Dlozi, Buhlebendalo and KHNYSA + The Light present ISINGQI SeNyikima.
ON THE FRINGE
The Fringe music programme is a genre-bending dive into the sounds of South Africa. Here’s a taste of what to expect.
Choral: Makhanda's beloved Kwantu Choir returns with their signature harmonies and community spirit.
Cabaret & Musical Theatre: From historical epics to intimate character studies, the Fringe presents King Cetshwayo The Musical, Journey of Oom Khris, Brenda and I, Call Me a Diva, Bhisho Massacre, and Are You Keane?
Classical & Instrumental: Award-winning collective PentaFusion celebrates multiple Ovation Awards with 5 Years, 5 Musicians. Also featured is That's The Way It Goes: Music for Saxophone and Piano.
Traditional & Spiritual: ISIBANE (THE LIGHT), Ubuhle Bendalo Indigenous Ensemble (KwaZulu-Natal ensemble fusing opera, classical, jazz, and traditional indigenous sounds, that represented South Africa at Visa for Music Festival Morocco 2024) and Spha and the band presents: Usizolwethu (The Musical Journey To Self Love).
