DIFFERENT FOLKS & SELECTIVE - CAPE TOWN

23rd October 2026 | Cape Town

DIFFERENT FOLKS — MUSIC, PICNIC & THE ART OF GATHERING

Different Folks is a South African creative ecosystem that has grown from a live music platform into an alternative model for artists to collaborate, tour and build sustainable creative businesses.

Since 2019, Different Folks has brought together artists and musicians including Alaska, Louis Mhlanga, Madala Kunene, Zawadi Yamungu, Dumza Maswana, McCoy Mrubata, Andile Yenana, Maleh, Bholoja, Xhanti Nonkwali, Roots2000, Wildcoast Trio, Kamazu, Nathi Mankayi, Zamajobe and many others.

The idea is simple: artists should be able to travel together, collaborate, share audiences and create income beyond the traditional gig.

Different Folks creates opportunities for artists to move from city to city, collaborate across genres and generations, reach new audiences and develop and sell their own creative products — from music and art to fashion, wine, film and other creative goods.

At its heart, Different Folks is about building a more self-sufficient creative economy: one where artists retain ownership, build their audiences, create sustainable relationships and generate value together.

The Cape Town edition brings the Different Folks philosophy into an intimate music picnic experience — a day of live performance, food, wine, conversation and creative exchange.

Guests will be invited to relax, gather and enjoy the music in an informal outdoor setting, with carefully curated cheese and meat platters accompanied by wine. Rather than a conventional concert, the picnic creates space for audiences and artists to connect — to listen, eat, drink, talk and experience music as part of a wider social and cultural gathering.

The programme brings together distinct creative forces:

MXO × UMUTHIOMKHULU ENSEMBLE

A collaboration between MXO and the Umuthiomkhulu Ensemble, alongside a performance by the Ensemble.

Umuthiomkhulu Ensemble is a South African spiritual jazz collective rooted in ancestral sound and creative freedom, founded and led by trombonist and composer Mthimkhulu Stuurman.

The Ensemble bridges traditional African music with contemporary jazz, drawing inspiration from ancestral knowledge and developing a distinctive sound that has taken them to audiences both nationally and internationally.

ZAMAJOBE

Zamajobe brings her distinctive voice and musical language to the Different Folks stage, continuing the platform's tradition of creating unexpected encounters between artists, sounds and creative perspectives.

The Cape Town gathering represents the heart of Different Folks: different sounds, different generations and different creative perspectives sharing the same space.

It is a place where the audience is not simply an audience, but part of the gathering.

Where music sits alongside food, wine, conversation and culture.

Where artists don't simply perform together — they collaborate, exchange ideas, reach new audiences and create new possibilities.

Different Folks is an alternative platform where artists can perform, collaborate, tour, sell, own and grow together.

ONE SELF-SUSTAINING CREATIVE ECOSYSTEM.