{"id":18734,"date":"2026-03-16T11:53:34","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T09:53:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sabc.co.za\/sabc\/?p=18734"},"modified":"2026-03-16T11:55:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T09:55:25","slug":"montreux-jazz-festival-franschhoek-completes-inaugural-programme-with-powerful-final-artist-announcement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sabc.co.za\/sabc\/montreux-jazz-festival-franschhoek-completes-inaugural-programme-with-powerful-final-artist-announcement\/","title":{"rendered":"Montreux Jazz Festival Franschhoek completes inaugural programme with powerful final artist announcement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lalah Hathaway joins Robert Glasper <\/span><\/span>&<\/span><\/span> Bilal<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>as Matt Hansen, Tigran <\/span><\/span>Hamasyan<\/span><\/span> and rising local talent Caleb Dlamini complete the line-up<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Franschhoek, South Africa<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>16<\/span><\/span> March 2026<\/span><\/span> \u2013 Montreux Jazz Festival Franschhoek has completed the programme for its historic inaugural edition with the announcement of internationally acclaimed <\/span><\/span>artists\u00a0Matt Hansen\u00a0and\u00a0Tigran Hamasyan, alongside exciting<\/span><\/span> young South African ensemble\u00a0Caleb Dlamini & Friends.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Adding to the excitement, organisers have also confirmed that\u00a0Grammy-winning vocalist Lalah Hathaway\u00a0will join\u00a0Robert Glasper and special guest Bilal\u00a0for <\/span><\/span>a rare <\/span><\/span>live collaboration when the inaugural<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Montreux Jazz Festival Franschhoek<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>takes place in the valley of dreams later this month. \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

From 27\u201329 March 2026, the legendary Swiss-born Montreux Jazz Festival makes its African debut<\/span><\/span> in the beautiful Franschhoek valley in South Africa<\/span><\/span>, bringing together <\/span><\/span>almost 40<\/span><\/span> global icons, African innovators and emerging talent in a vibrant celebration of musical discovery.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The final additions further enrich<\/span><\/span>es<\/span><\/span> a programme that celebrates musical excellence in all its forms.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Singer-songwriter\u00a0Matt Hansen, whose emotionally resonant music and storytelling have earned him a massive global following <\/span><\/span>–<\/span><\/span>including millions of fans across TikTok and streaming platforms <\/span><\/span>–<\/span><\/span>brings a fresh contemporary voice to the programme. <\/span><\/span>His performance at\u00a0The Arches stage on Friday night\u00a0promises to connect with a new generation of music lovers discovering Montreux for the first time.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

At the Jazz Village <\/span><\/span>stage <\/span><\/span>on Friday, <\/span><\/span>located in an historic church in the town, <\/span><\/span>audiences will experience the extraordinary artistry of Tigran Hamasyan, winner of the 2003 Solo Piano Competition of the Montreux Jazz Artists Foundation (MJAF). <\/span><\/span>Since then, the Armenian pianist and composer has established himself as one of the most innovative musicians of his generation. His appearance at M<\/span><\/span>ontreux Jazz Festival<\/span><\/span> Franschhoek reflects the foundation\u2019s philanthropic mission to support and accompany jazz talents throughout their artistic journey.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Completing the announcement is Caleb Dlamini & Friends, a dynamic young collective from the host town of Franschhoek. Led by 1<\/span><\/span>7<\/span><\/span>-year-old drummer prodigy Caleb Dlamini, the ensemble represents the next generation of South African musicians shaping the country\u2019s evolving jazz landscape.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Dlamini\u2019s inclusion carries <\/span><\/span>particular resonance<\/span><\/span>. Supported in his musical journey through education and access to instruments by the festival\u2019s <\/span><\/span>legacy<\/span><\/span> partner, FRANCO, he is both a remarkable young bandleader and a powerful symbol of the festival\u2019s commitment to nurturing future talent<\/span><\/span>. \u00a0S<\/span><\/span>ome<\/span><\/span> of <\/span><\/span>the valley\u2019s talent is also <\/span><\/span>currently being incubated through Franschhoek\u2019s Uncorked Music Academy<\/span><\/span>, such as 13-year-old saxophone player <\/span><\/span>Graigan<\/span><\/span> Papier, also part of the band line-up and who will make a cameo appearance with Kesivan Naidoo\u2019s <\/span><\/span>amaBig<\/span><\/span> Band Experience. \u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

For Montreux Jazz Festival Franschhoek, placing emerging artists on the same stages as internationally celebrated performers is central to its vision: creating a space where musical heritage and future innovation meet.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Festival co-founder Raffaella Goedvolk says the final announcement perfectly captures the spirit of Montreux.<\/span><\/span> \u201cWhat excites us most about this final programme is the meeting of generations <\/span><\/span>–<\/span><\/span> from globally celebrated artists to young musicians like Caleb Dlamini who represent the future of South African jazz.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span><\/span>That has always been the magic of Montreux: extraordinary artists, unexpected collaborations and the feeling that something special can happen at any moment.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Buli Ndlovu, <\/span><\/span>Executive Head of Personal and Private Banking Marketing, Nedbank<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>agrees, saying<\/span><\/span> the festival also represents an important cultural milestone.<\/span><\/span> \u201cMontreux Jazz Festival Franschhoek is more than a music event<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>it is a cultural moment.<\/span><\/span>\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c<\/span><\/span>It celebrates creativity, connection, and the extraordinary depth of talent we have in South Africa and across the world. <\/span><\/span>As Nedbank, we are proud to support an initiative that brings global artistry to our shores while creating meaningful opportunities for emerging musicians who represent the future of our creative economy. <\/span><\/span>We curate these moments for our <\/span><\/span>clients<\/span><\/span> to connect with them through their passion, offering experiences that resonate with their appreciation for artistry, culture, and excellence.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Across the weekend the festival will unfold across stages<\/span><\/span> and spaces in the <\/span><\/span>Cape winelands <\/span><\/span>valley, blending\u00a0world-class live performances, DJs and vinyl selectors with exceptional food, wine and immersive cultural experiences.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The full programme now features an extraordinary mix of international icons, African innovators and emerging talent<\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/a>Park and Ride transport options from various destinations in Cape Town and the Winelands make the festival accessible and a dedicated website run by travel partner <\/span><\/span>Tourvest<\/span><\/span><\/a> assists festival goers with <\/span><\/span>seamless <\/span><\/span>accommodation<\/span><\/span> and <\/span><\/span>transfers. <\/span><\/span>Please visit <\/span><\/span>https:\/\/www.tourvestdm.com\/mjf\/<\/span><\/span><\/a> for more information<\/span><\/span> on these options as well as for details about the festival\u2019s private chauffer offering<\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Please see website: <\/span><\/span>http:\/\/www.mjfsa.com\/<\/span><\/span><\/a> for further information including <\/span><\/span>details<\/span><\/span> about the un-ticketed Sunday Slowdown<\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

For media enquiries \u2013 hi-res images, expanded biographies, interviews etc:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Kaz Henderson | Networx PR | <\/span><\/span>kaz@networxpr.co.za<\/span><\/span><\/a> | +27 (0)82\u00a0339 1199<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Jeni Fletcher | Networx PR | jeni@networxpr.co.za<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Social Media:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Instagram: <\/span><\/span>@mjffranschhoek<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Facebook<\/span><\/span>: <\/span><\/span>Montreux Jazz Festival Franschhoek<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

X (Twitter):<\/span><\/span> @mjffranschhoek<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

TikTok: <\/span><\/span>@montreuxjazzfestivalsa<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Editor Notes:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

About Montreux Jazz Festival Franschhoek (MJFSA)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0Montreux Jazz Festival Franschhoek (MJFSA<\/span><\/span>)<\/span><\/span>\u00a0is a\u00a0jazz-inspired, lifestyle experience\u00a0that brings the iconic Montreux spirit to Africa for the first time. Taking place\u00a027\u201329 March 2026\u00a0in the heart of the\u00a0Franschhoek Valley\u00a0– one of the world\u2019s most celebrated food, wine, and art destinations – MJFF will see global artistry meet African soul in a celebration of connection, creativity, and excellence across music, art, and culture.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As part of Montreux\u2019s global family,\u00a0MJFSA\u00a0is defined not by scale but by curation: exceptional performances, immersive experiences, and the unmistakable magic of Franschhoek. <\/span><\/span>www.mjfsa.com<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

<\/a>The festival is supported by several partners including Nedbank, SABC, Sunday Times,<\/span><\/span> Heineken<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>and<\/span><\/span> Franschhoek <\/span><\/span>Wine Valley<\/span><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

About the Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Held each summer on the shores of Lake Geneva, the\u00a0Montreux Jazz Festival\u00a0was founded in 1967 by\u00a0Claude Nobs\u00a0and has been directed by\u00a0Mathieu Jaton\u00a0since 2013. \u00a0It attracts around 250,000 visitors each year and has hosted legends including\u00a0Miles Davis, Aretha Franklin, Nina Simone, Prince, David<\/span><\/span> Bowie, and Elton John.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Organised by the\u00a0Fondation du Festival de Jazz de Montreux, the festival is renowned for its creative collaborations, legendary performances, and global spirit of artistic exchange. <\/span><\/span>www.montreuxjazzfestival.com<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

About Nedbank Group<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Nedbank Group is a bank holding company listed on the JSE Limited, with a market capitalisation of R118bn as <\/span><\/span>at<\/span><\/span> 30 June 2025. Nedbank is one of Africa\u2019s largest banking groups, with operations in South Africa, Namibia, Eswatini, Mozambique, Lesotho and Zimbabwe, and offshore in the Isle of Man and Jersey. It also has representative offices in other Africa countries, including Kenya, and has key global financial centres to provide international banking services for SA-based multinational and high-net-worth clients in London and Dubai. The group is a diversified financial services provider, offering a wide range of wholesale and retail banking and financial services. Nedbank has maintained its level 1 BBBEE status for the past 7 years and rates in the top quartile of local and international banks on ESG scores. <\/span><\/span>\u202f<\/span><\/span>group.nedbank.co.za <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Artists <\/span><\/span>on the line-up:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u2022 <\/span>Robert Glasper with Special Guest<\/span><\/span>s Lalah Hathaway & <\/span><\/span>Bilal<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Ezra Collective<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Matt Hansen<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>R\u00f3is\u00edn Murphy<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Salif Keita<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Wet <\/span><\/span>Wet<\/span><\/span> Wet<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Thandiswa Mazwai<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Stacey Kent<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Mandisi <\/span><\/span>Dyantyis<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>DJ Kent<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Tigran Hamasyan<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Cassiem Latief and Leighton Moody<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Msaki presents ENTROPY: The Heart as an Echo Chamber ft Jesse Clegg<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>DJ Zinhle<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>The Kesivan <\/span><\/span>amaBig<\/span><\/span> Band Experience ft. <\/span><\/span>Boohle<\/span><\/span>, Moonchild <\/span><\/span>Sanelly<\/span><\/span> and BONJ<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Billy Monama’s Guitar Convergence Ft Moss Mogale and Vusi Mahlasela\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Rosey Gold<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Kesivan & The Lights featuring The Swiss African Horns\u00a0with special guest BONJ<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Kyle Shepherd Trio<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>DJ <\/span><\/span>Kenzhero<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Home at Last: A tribute to Bheki <\/span><\/span>Mseleku<\/span><\/span> presented by Gareth <\/span><\/span>Lockrane<\/span><\/span> and Bokani Dyer<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>‘A Kind of Blue’ w\/ Eddie Henderson, Javon Jackson, Donald Harrison, George Colligan, Buster Williams, Lenny White<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Ramon Alexander Trio ft Buddy Wells<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Lelowhatsgood<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Brother <\/span><\/span>Kujenga<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Kwanti <\/span><\/span>Leeh<\/span><\/span>! (Herbie Tsoaeli, Andile <\/span><\/span>Yenana<\/span><\/span>, Ayanda <\/span><\/span>Sikade<\/span><\/span>, Sisonke <\/span><\/span>Xonti<\/span><\/span>)<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>The <\/span><\/span>Ploemies<\/span><\/span> & Friends<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Madala Kunene x <\/span><\/span>Sibusile<\/span><\/span> Xaba<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Caleb Dlamini & Friends<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Trev The Japanese<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>DJ Mighty<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Kay Faith<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Homie.Lover.Friend<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Sbu<\/span><\/span> The Guy<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Charles Leonard<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>Nelee<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n
\u2022 <\/span>CandyFlip<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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Lalah Hathaway joins Robert Glasper & Bilal, as Matt Hansen, Tigran Hamasyan and rising local talent Caleb Dlamini complete the line-up Franschhoek, South Africa, 16 March 2026 \u2013 Montreux Jazz Festival Franschhoek has completed the programme for its historic inaugural edition with the announcement of internationally acclaimed artists\u00a0Matt Hansen\u00a0and\u00a0Tigran Hamasyan, alongside exciting young South African […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":8918,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sabc.co.za\/sabc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18734"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sabc.co.za\/sabc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sabc.co.za\/sabc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sabc.co.za\/sabc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sabc.co.za\/sabc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18734"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.sabc.co.za\/sabc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18734\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18736,"href":"https:\/\/www.sabc.co.za\/sabc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18734\/revisions\/18736"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sabc.co.za\/sabc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sabc.co.za\/sabc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sabc.co.za\/sabc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sabc.co.za\/sabc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}