Idols SA winner Luyolo Yiba has been added to the lineup of this year’s Buyel’Ekhaya Music Festival happening in East London on 15 December at Buffalo Park Cricket Stadium. He joins a lineup that includes top names in SA music such as Sho Madjozi, Kabza De Small, Zonke, Kwesta, Busiswa, Vusi Mahlasela, the Jaziel Brothers, Nathi, Bucie Smith and Yanga Chief.
“I am super excited and honored to be part of one of the biggest music festivals in the Eastern Cape, Buyel’ekhaya Music Festival. It’s a massive opportunity for me and I’m grateful for it,” he says of the festival that was established in 2009.
Hailing from the Eastern Cape, 24-year-old Luyolo Yiba was crowned the Idols SA Season 15 winner in a glittering awards ceremony hosted at Carnival City on Sunday, 17 November 2019 and televised live to millions of Mzansi Magic watchers.
Luyolo is currently being compared to international singing megastar John Legend for his soulful voice. The fans’ reception of the first male winner of the competition since 2015 is continuing to grow on social media. His debut single, “Sunshine Through the Rain” has garnered much attention and the YouTube audio has received 156 000 views with the music video to match receiving 94 000 views.
The hottest acts of 2019 will yet again descend on East London for the 11th Annual Buyel’Ekhaya Pan African Festival on Sunday, 15 December at Buffalo Park Cricket Stadium. This year’s programme of Buyel’Ekhaya workshops culminated in fresh new talent from the region getting the chance to showcase at the fashion show on the 13th at Hemingways Mall alongside top fashion and the music festival on the 15th will see brand new acts discovered at the Buyel’Ekhaya Music Development Programme kicking off proceedings: Nathi B, HH Revolution, Zamani Xebe, TT and DJs Nathi Nation and Zandile Mngaza.
Tickets to the fashion show at 6pm on Friday are R150, and to the music festival on Sunday they are R250 at Shoprite Checkers and Computicket. Doors will open at 12:00 and the party ends at 05:00.
This year, Palesa Mokubung of Mantsho mentored Eastern Cape emerging designers as part of the Buyel’Ekhaya Fashion Development Programme. “The purpose of the showcase is to create a platform for exposure of emerging Eastern Cape designers through the power of association with renowned brands as well as to complete a holistic developmental experience for them, providing critical experience,” says Nomahlubi Mazwai of Buyel’Ekhaya. Wendy Nortey, Sinalo Tshaya, Gcaleka Thobile, Khema Akhonke, Holoholo Avumile, Sikhabeu Vuyiswa, Lindokuhle Monjane, Cebolenkosi Shibe, Yakhuxolo Mvambo and Zalisile Stuurman have now produced garments to be showcased at the distinctly Afrocentric 4th Annual Buyel’Ekhaya Fashion Show on 13 December at the Hemingways Mall in East London alongside major designers Palesa Mokubung (Mantsho), Laduma Ngxokolo (Maxhosa), Linda Sithole and Mzukisi Mbane (Imprint ZA)
As Mazwai says: “The crown of the Eastern Cape’s festivals, the Annual Buyel’Ekhaya Pan African Festival celebrates all that is African, contributing to the maintenance of cultural heritage and diversity. It is foremost an African music festival that respects and embraces Pan African culture as is evident in the lineup.”
“Buyel’Ekhaya was established in 2009 in East London with a simple vision: To turn the Eastern Cape into the Cultural Mecca of South Africa. Each year, the country’s finest kick off the holiday season festivities with their display of excellence on stage and at the music and fashion workshops and fashion show beforehand. Song, dance and fashion are part of our vision to give full expression to the tenets of culture that form a central part of the African lifestyle,” says Nomahlubi Mazwai of Mazwai Communications who created and produced the festival.
She emphasises that as fun and fabulous as the music and fashion are, the festival is crucial as it has “extensive socio-economic benefits for the region, which is why we also focus on developmental workshops for locals in order to ensure various demand supply gaps in the creative arts industries are narrowed and that East London’s human capital has the capacity and capability to service tourists and other important stakeholders at all times”.
Fashion Show: Friday, 13 December 2019
Venue: The Venue, Hemingways Mall, East London
Time: 18:00
Ticket price: R150 from Shoprite, Checkers and Computicket nationwide
Festival: Sunday, 15 December 2019
Venue: Buffalo Park Cricket Stadium
Time: Gates open: 12:00. Festival ends: 05:00
Tickets: R250 from Shoprite, Checkers and Computicket nationwide
