Founded in 2009, this festival has been greatly supported by the Buffalo City Metro as well as the host city, East London. Buyel’Ekhaya has been well-received by avid festival goers from all across South Africa.
In the past the festival has hosted artists like Lira, Simphiwe Dana, Siphokazi, Caiphus Semenya, Letta Mbulu, Freshly Ground, Oliver Mthukudzi and Grammy Award winning group Lady Smith Black Mambazo amongst others. This line up was very well supported with crowds in excess of 20,000 people in attendance.
The festival is hosted in the beautiful province of the Eastern Cape to encourage those who are born in the province but have relocated elsewhere for work reasons, to come home and spend the holidays with their families. The province has plenty to offer in terms of holiday activities, valuable tourist sites to be viewed and thus tourism to the Eastern Cape is supported by the festival. There is job creation for those that provide various services linked to executing the festival. From the local catering companies used, to the cleaning and security staff, we look to make a difference further than just the actual festival. This translates into the economic development of the province on various levels. Moreover, Buyel'Ekhaya pays particular tribute to musicians who have achieved national and international success.
Buyel'Ekhaya - Going Back to our Roots!