Other Village People Hosts a Mini Music Festival During Human Rights Weekend presented by Jazz in the City
On Sunday, 22 March, a bold new “mini” music festival titled What Is Jazz? arrives at the heart of Cape Town in District Six at Texas, a multi-purpose courtyard space.
Brought to you by Heineken, powered by FNB Speedpoint and supported by the City of Cape Town and the Goethe-Institut South Africa, the event playfully and provocatively poses a question to purists and newcomers alike: What is Jazz? As the city enters what many now refer to as “Jazz Week,” with an influx of jazz tourists and a flurry of programming, What Is Jazz? offers an alternative exploration—one rooted not in rigid genre definitions, but in spirit.
The title functions as a rhetorical question, challenging notions of what qualifies as “jazz” and who gets to define it. Jazz, after all, is as much a state of mind as it is a musical form.
It is freedom of expression. Improvisation. Experimentation. A conversation between past and future. That ethos shapes this genre-fluid lineup—four boundary-pushing artists whose work draws from a jazz consciousness while moving seamlessly across folk, indigenous music, alternative soundscapes, and spiritual performance.
What is Jazz? is presented by Jazz in the City, in association with Other Village People. As a founding partner, Mission for Inner City Cape Town is supporting the festival as part of its broader placemaking and urban regeneration strategy.
Alderman JP Smith, Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security says “Events have the ability to stimulate economies and create jobs while also promoting social cohesion. Nothing brings people together quite like the love of music, excellent food and an all-round good time.
The City of Cape Town is proud to support a unique event like Jazz in the City, which allows residents and visitors to experience music in a distinctive way while exploring the Cape Town inner city. It also reminds us how our shared spaces can come alive through culture, creativity and the simple joy of people coming together.”
Tim Harris, co-founder of Mission for Inner City Cape Town, added “Jazz in the City is a powerful example of how culture can activate public spaces. When streets, heritage buildings and creative hubs are filled with music and people, the city feels alive, connected and accessible. This supports our long-term vision of a safe, inclusive and vibrant inner city that works for everyone. We are proud to support a festival that not only celebrates African jazz excellence, but also demonstrates how placemaking can strengthen economic activity, tourism and social cohesion in Cape Town’s CBD.”
Other Village People (OVP) is a South African events platform dedicated to creating liberatory spaces for LGBTQ+ communities to connect, celebrate, and exist authentically. OVP produces Queertopia.za, a dynamic music festival; SSS, a roving party series hosted across Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, and Maputo; and Grounded, a series of intimate, wellness-centred gatherings. Through these offerings, OVP creates spaces where queer joy and belonging are centred and affirmed.
The Lineup
Desire Marea – The genre-defying, multi-disciplinary artist and sangoma from KwaZulu-Natal returns to Cape Town for the first time in over a year. Known for transcendent live performances that blur the lines between ritual, avant-garde pop, and spiritual jazz expression, Desire Marea embodies the freedom at the heart of this festival.
Muneyi – Hailing from Venda, Muneyi’s angelic voice and poetic folk storytelling evoke ancestral memory and emotional depth. His sound is intimate yet expansive, rooted in tradition, yet resonant with contemporary jazz sensibility.
Mishy Kope – An emerging star on the alternative folk scene, Mishy Kope brings textured songwriting and an arresting stage presence that speaks to a new generation of sonic explorers.
Sky Dladla – A master percussionist and indigenous music practitioner, Sky Dladla delves deep into her Xhosa roots. Her rhythmic storytelling channels heritage, healing, and improvisation—core tenets of jazz in its purest form.
A DJ will round out the experience, carrying audiences into the late afternoon with a carefully curated set. Taking place over Human Rights Weekend, What Is Jazz? also gestures toward the political and cultural freedoms that underpin both jazz and queer expression. With a proudly LGBTQ+ lineup, the festival celebrates diversity, fluidity, and the radical act of self-definition.
This is not a traditional jazz festival. It is not confined by category. It is an exploration of sound, identity, and artistic liberation.
What Is Jazz?
An exploration of what it means to be jazz.
Date: 22 March 2026
Doors open at 2pm – ends at 10pm Sunday
Venue: Venue: Texas, 11 Albertus Street, District Six, Cape Town
Tickets available on www.jazzinthecity.co.za or https://jazzinthecity.co.za/