Once a year the great and the good from the African music scene descend on the Bavarian city of Würzburg to celebrate the diverse sounds of the African continent. Here's what this year's lineup has to offer.
Image: Daara J Family
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Top acts at the International Africa Festival
Once a year the great and the good from the African music scene descend on the Bavarian city of Würzburg to celebrate the diverse sounds of the African continent. Here are some of the artists taking part this year.
Image: Daara J Family
Angelique Kidjo
The Grammy-award winning artist from Benin is known, among other things, for her creative and experimental music videos. A great example of this is the video for her cover version of the Talking Heads 80s classic, "Once in a Lifetime." The track appears on Kidjo's new album Remain in Light, and the video is sure to brighten up your day.
Image: Gilles-Marie Zimmerman
Daara J Family
Hip hop duo Faada Freddy and N'dongo D have had successful careers both as solo artists and as members of Daara J Family. They believe that hip hop started in Africa, traveled to the United States during the slave era, and now, through music like theirs, has returned "back home." When they first heard US rap, they found it sounded like the tasso rhythmic poetry of Senegal.
Image: Daara J Family
Manu Dibango
The 84-year-old Cameroonian, a Würzburg veteran, plays the saxophone, vibraphone and piano. Dibango is credited with popularizing the urban Cameroonian style of music known as Makossa, which means dance in the Duala language. His funk track "Soul Makossa" became an international hit back in 1973.
Image: Alain Herman
Lokua Kanza
Kanza, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, started out his career as a member of various ensembles, including Manu Dibango's Soul Makossa Gang. In the 90s he began recording his own acoustic music and went on to have a successful solo career. He is now a judge on the Francophone Africa version of the reality TV singing contest The Voice.
Image: Bugs Steffen
Mariama
The singer-songwriter, who was born in Sierra Leone and grew up in Germany, describes her own music style as "soul-folk-pop with West African instruments and influences." She has performed at Würzburg several times in collaboration with other artists, and this year will take to the stage solo to present tracks from her upcoming album, Love, Sweat and Tears.
Image: Sebastian Zapp
Alpha Blondy
Reggae fans will likely be familiar with the music of Alpha Blondy, one of Africa's best-known reggae stars, and his band the Solar System. Born in Dimbokro, Ivory Coast, Blondy sings in Dioula, French and English. He is known for tackling political and social topics in his music. His songs have millions of hits on YouTube.
Image: Youri Lenquette
Hot Water
This band from Cape Town takes the traditional South African styles of mbaqanga, kwela and maskanda and weaves them into a modern folk rock style. Energetic frontman Donovan Copley, who grew up under apartheid, says that creating the band was his way of healing "the social illness of separateness" that he felt in his home country.
Image: Esteban Martinena Guerrero
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The International Africa Festival, which takes place in Würzburg, Germany, is celebrating its 30th anniversary. This year's festival, which runs from May 31 until June 3, brings together artists from across the African continent for a weekend of eclectic performances.
Mariama: Writing 'Raindrops'
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Thousands of artists from 56 African and Caribbean countries have taken to the stage in Würzburg over the years. Among them have been hugely influential African artists, from Miriam Makeba (aka Mama Africa) to Youssou N'Dour.
We've put together some of the best acts from this year's lineup in the picture gallery above.
And it's not just African music that's in the spotlight in Würzburg: Food, dance and traditional crafts will be on display as well.
Designer Rama Diaw, from Saint-Louis in Senegal, will present a fashion show at the festival. She uses techniques like batik and sources her materials from Senegal, Mauritania and Mali.
