Important Dates

The 21st Afrika Karibik Festival Bayreuth – “Wakadjo! Kommt zum Tanzen!” (Wakadjo! Come and dance!)  will take place from 17–19 July 2026 in Bayreuth’s city centre. With free admission, the festival celebrates the cultural connections between Africa, the Caribbean, and Bayreuth through music, dance, food, arts, and dialogue. Since its inception, the festival has aimed to foster connections between people, cultures, and organizations, creating a vibrant space for intercultural exchange and community engagement. More info on the programme here.

As part of the festival programme, the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence presents a live concert by MORUMA. MORUMA is a band consisting of Matchume Zango and Childo Tomás from Mozambique, Jean-Pierre Jozéfinn’ from Réunion Island, and Andry Michael Randriantseva from Madagascar. The group creates a unique musical bridge across the Indian Ocean – a powerful fusion of global rhythms and deeply rooted sounds, where traditional music and contemporary influences merge into an intense, boundless sonic experience

The musicians:

Jean-Pierre Jozéfinn'

Jean-Pierre Jozéfinn’ is a Reunion-born guitarist, composer and arranger who began playing guitar at a young age and developed a diverse style influenced by Indian Ocean traditional music, jazz, Brazilian and Latin rhythms, as well as soul, rock, pop, and classical traditions. He later trained in jazz at the IACP in Paris and in classical guitar with Spanish master Alberto Ponce, and has also taught guitar while studying ethnomusicology at the University of Paris VIII.

Andry Michaël Randriantseva

Andry Michaël Randriantseva, often known simply as Andry Mika, is a professional multi-instrumentalist from Madagascar celebrated for his work on piano, trombone, keyboard, and other instruments, and for blending jazz and world music styles. He has performed with ensembles such as the international group Josefinn Austral View and leads musical projects that highlight the rich cultural fusion of the Indian Ocean region.

Childo Tomás

Childo Tomás is a renowned bass player, who has done a lot of research of traditional and popular music from different corners of Africa, particularly from Mozambique. Besides his individual work, he plays with the Cuban Jazz pianist Omar Sousa which shows the wide range of Tomas’ music styles. This knowledge and experience, along with his virtuosity on the bass has brought Childo critical acclaim. Besides the electric bass as lead instrument, Childo also plays the mbira, the xivocovoco and the xigovia.

Find out more about Childo Tomás' Cluster engagements here.

Matchume Zango

“Matchume” Cândido Salomão Zango has dedicated himself to Mozambican traditional music. His family’s roots lie in Zavala, in the heart of the country’s timbila tradition, a city in the Inhambane Province. From the age of six, Matchume felt inspired by this long and passionate legacy of music and percussion, and began to play and study the traditional instruments and compositions. He is a virtuoso on instruments such as the mbira, the xitende and the djembe drums and is currently regarded as one of the best masters of the timbila, which is also a World heritage instrument. In September 2017, he released his first solo album titled 'Wata M'cande' followed by Tatei Watu in 2018.

He has performed, taught and conducted artistic and cultural projects in such countries as Austria, Belgium, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Chad, China, Denmark, France, Gabon, Germany, Guinea-Bissau, Japan, Madagascar, Mali, Norway, Portugal, Reunion Island, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, South Korea, Switzerland and Zimbabwe. He has collaborated with international artists in music, theater, dance and film, and recorded albums with Timbila Muzimba, MoSomeBigNoise and Kubilai Khan.

Find out more about Matchume Zango's Cluster engagements here.