Burundi: Pamoja Fest returns to Bujumbura

This year the festival, which was first held in 2016, will be headlined by Ugandans Zabuli, DJ Stef, DJ Rev and hype man Paul Selah.

Local acts set to perform are Gladys, Shaka, Victorious Team, Armel Ishimwe, SMS, Big Zoe, Pechie, Fleury, Type, Prince Tuombe and DJ Patman.

Festival founder Geofrey Baluku, popularly known as Pastor Jeff, told Music In Africa that the festival wanted to reach out to young people through gospel music by creating a modern environment that they could relate to.

“The festival’s objective is to positively impact on the local youth by providing them with a platform to enjoy positive music by African gospel artists," he said.

“We also wanted to give an urban look to the industry because we realised that a lot of young people were finding it hard to relate to the traditional way of doing gospel music.”

Baluku says the organisers are keen to stage a show that is fun, inspiring and memorable for all festivalgoers. 

“When we first launched, people were not very excited because we had just come from war,” he said. “However, with time they could not resist considering that music is one of the many unifying factors.

"Currently, we have a huge following and I must say that we have set the bar high for the events industry. It isn’t much compared to other countries but we have been able to utilise the resources available here."

The Burundian Civil War lasted from 1993 to 2005 as a result of ethnic divisions between the Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups. It is estimated that about 300 000 people died during the conflict.

Asked what impact the annual festival has had on the local community, Baluku said: “Bringing in musicians from across the globe to interact with and mentor our local musicians has helped our artists to become more professional through branding and music production.

"We have also been able to transform many young people to dare and dream big through our boot-camp programme, which happens throughout the year.”

For more information about Pamoja Festival, click here.