{"id":266780,"date":"2025-07-16T14:09:21","date_gmt":"2025-07-16T14:09:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/266780\/"},"modified":"2025-07-16T14:09:21","modified_gmt":"2025-07-16T14:09:21","slug":"sounds-and-soul-of-east-africa-head-to-rural-wales-this-weekend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/266780\/","title":{"rendered":"Sounds and soul of East Africa head to rural Wales this weekend"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Big Love Festival 2024 \u2013 main stage<\/p>\n

A small independent festival in Monmouthshire will have a truly global flavour this weekend (17-20 July) \u2013 as some of the most exciting names in East African music and art descend on Wales.<\/p>\n

Thanks to support from the British Council\u2019s International Collaboration Grants, Big Love Festival has developed a partnership with Uganda\u2019s acclaimed Nyege Nyege Festival, known globally for its adventurous music programming and bold visual style.<\/p>\n

The collaboration first took shape in late 2024, when members of the Big Love creative team travelled to Uganda to work on the Nyege Nyege site \u2013 sharing skills, co-creating installations, and forging connections with artists, craftspeople and performers. This week, that exchange comes full circle, as four Uganda-based artists arrive in Monmouthshire to help transform Big Love into a celebration of cross-cultural creativity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got an amazing group from Uganda coming over,\u201d said Big Love\u2019s Creative Director,\u00a0David Robertson. \u201cRegan Kandole\u00a0\u2013 a visual artist and metalworker \u2013 landed last week and is already on-site welding scrap metal into a large sculpture. He\u2019s working alongside our UK team to decorate the woods and create a mural along the fence line that will also include a tribute to Rina, a much-loved Ugandan designer who sadly passed away earlier this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was a huge part of the Nyege Nyege community and had worked closely with us during our visit to Uganda. The mural is our way of honouring her creativity and the connection we built together. Her presence will still be felt across the site.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Genre-blending<\/strong><\/p>\n

Joining Reagan next week are three genre-defying musical artists from the Nyege Nyege collective.\u00a0Catu Diosis, a Ugandan producer, rapper and DJ, is known for her fearless fusion of global bass, Afro rhythms and electrifying energy.<\/p>\n

\"\"one of the Nyege Nyege artists coming to Big Love this weekend Credit @picturesthatwilliamtakes<\/p>\n

She is joined by\u00a0R3ign Drops, a founding member of the Afro Femme collective Dope Gal and one half of the DJ duo Black Sistarz, whose powerful club sets blend genres and push boundaries. The third artist,\u00a0P\u00d6, is a Ghanaian-French producer, vocalist and DJ whose afrocentric live performances and DJ sets span everything from dancehall and Brazilian funk to experimental electronic music, noise rap and post-punk soundscapes.<\/p>\n

The trio will take over the festival\u2019s Fire Truck Stage \u2013 a converted fire engine \u2013 on Sunday (20 July) evening, closing out the weekend with a high-energy showcase of East Africa\u2019s underground scene.<\/p>\n

In addition to their performances, there will also be graffiti and street art workshops for children and families, encouraging festival-goers to get involved in creating colourful, East African-inspired artwork.<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

New sounds<\/strong><\/p>\n

Speaking about what audiences can expect, David said: \u201cOur audience is really broad-minded and open to discovering new sounds.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re excited about this takeover- it\u2019s quite a big deal for us. The artists from Uganda bring a vibrant East African flavour to contemporary electronic music that\u2019s fresh but deeply rooted in their culture. People who\u2019ve been to Nyege Nyege Festival before are already reaching out, so it has a great international reputation. Festival-goers can expect something dynamic, energetic, and very different \u2013 something that truly connects Wales with the world through music and art.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Big Love Festival<\/p>\n

And for David, the collaboration goes far beyond one weekend.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cCollaborating with artists and refugees in Uganda really opened our eyes to different ways of working and thinking. There\u2019s a lot of ingenuity and vibrancy in the local communities and we\u2019re proud to bring some of that spirit back here \u2013 not just in the music, but in the art and how the festival looks and feels.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is just the beginning. We\u2019ve just secured funding to develop a \u2018World in Wales\u2019 theme, and the partnership with Nyege Nyege \u2013 made possible by the British Council \u2013 helped unlock that. We want Big Love to reflect the richness of Welsh identity, including the stories and sounds of diaspora communities. Our audience is curious and open-minded, and we want to keep surprising them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Connections<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Big Love team also hopes to return to Uganda to continue working with Nyege Nyege and other East African creatives.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve built real friendships,\u201d said David. \u201cWe want to keep that connection alive and growing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The British Council\u2019s International Collaboration Grants were launched to support partnerships between UK and international artists, promoting creativity, mutual exchange, and long-term global relationships.<\/p>\n

\"\"Big Love Festival<\/p>\n

Ruth Cocks, Director, British Council Wales, praised the collaboration. She said: \u201cBig Love Festival\u2019s partnership with East African artists is a fantastic example of the kind of cultural exchange our International Collaboration Grants are designed to encourage. By sharing skills alongside musical and artistic talent, this project builds lasting connections and enriches both communities. We\u2019re excited to see how this evolving relationship develops in Wales and beyond.<\/p>\n

Big Love Festival runs 17\u201320 July 2025 near Gwehelog, Usk, Monmouthshire. For more information and tickets visit: www.biglovefestival.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n

To find out more about the British Council\u2019s International Collaboration Grants, visit:
https:\/\/arts.britishcouncil.org\/projects\/international-collaboration-grants<\/a><\/p>\n

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\n the people of Wales.<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Big Love Festival 2024 \u2013 main stage A small independent festival in Monmouthshire will have a truly global…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":266781,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5010],"tags":[748,4884,16,15,1764],"class_list":{"0":"post-266780","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wales","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-great-britain","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-wales"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114863313380353583","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266780","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=266780"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/266780\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/266781"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=266780"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=266780"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=266780"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}