ACCES and Bassline come together for I AM HERE concert

JOHANNESBURG – Bassline, in association with the leading pan-African music trade-event ACCES, will present the Bassline Fest I AM HERE live music concert on 27 November at Constitution Hill in Johannesburg.

This concert will be for a live audience (in line with COVID-19 regulations) and streamed internationally with Bassline’s festival partners.

The headline artists are South African legend Thandiswa Mazwai and Zambia-born Australia-based Sampa The Great, who has been impacting globally with her latest albums and shows.

Also billed are SA hip hop stalwart Stogie T, Lesotho’s Morena Leraba, Laliboi and Ikati Esengxoweni from South Africa and Moonga K from Zambia/Botswana.

Tickets are R400 on Howler and Computicket.

The show starts at 16:00 and ends at 23:00.

Bassline Fest has partnered with the 4th Music In Africa Conference For Collaborations, Exchange and Showcases (ACCES) for the I AM HERE concert.

WHAT IS ACCES?

“ACCES is a pan-African trade event for music industry players to exchange ideas, discover new talent and create business linkages. ACCES is held in a different African city every year, attracting active music industry players from across the globe. This year is Johannesburg’s turn,” said organiser Brad Holmes of Bassline.

ACCES is organised by the Music in Africa Foundation, a non-profit and pan-African organisation, in partnership with Siemens Stiftung, Goethe-Institut and Reeperbahn Festival International – one of Europe’s largest club festivals.

Featuring international speakers, networkers and showcasing artists, ACCES will offer a strong programme that includes industry talks, pitch and networking sessions, workshops, music performances and exhibitions with delegates from over 40 countries.

This year ACCES and Reeperbahn Festival will present exciting live acts from across Africa over three days (25 – 27 November).

On the last day ACCES will join forces with Bassline to offer a truly memorable pan-African event.

Holmes emphasises that the performances were happening as a result of the support of a number of different organisations.

SAKIFO Festival is supporting StogieT’s performance in keeping with the long relationship with Bassline Fest, sharing talent and industry experience.

StogieT will be presenting his craft with the support of an all-star jazz quartet; Shane Cooper on bass and electric guitar, Bokani Dyer on keys/piano, multi-instrumentalist Clement Carr, Justin Badenhorst on drums and additional vocals by BONJ.

Eddie Hatidye, Music in Africa Director said “The Bassline team has for many years championed the celebration and discovery of African talent. We at the Music in Africa Foundation are delighted to finally have the opportunity to join forces with Bassline with the goal to produce a memorable event.”

Holmes explained that this latest showcase was a continuation of the work his organisation had undertaken to keep music alive over the trying times of COVID-19.

“I AM HERE is the middle part of a two year project titled ‘From Lockdown to Live’ An African Music Journey. This project spans the whole of the pandemic period from 2020 to 2022 and consists of I AM HOME, I AM HERE & I AM LIVE. I AM HOME broadcast earlier this year was a hugely successful hybrid project resulting in a Bassline presented and made for TV, live music special, I AM HOME . Which featuring a host of African music artists from across the African Continent. Some artists were filmed live at the Bassline Live at The Lyric Returns, three concerts in May 2021 series with a host of burgeoning and established artists. This series was made possible by the NAC’s PESP stimulus package. In I AM HOME audience got to see Sampa The Great in a pre-recoded studio set, this as a precursor and a tantaliser for audiences to now see her in the flesh live on stage at the Bassline Fest I AM HERE.”