Africa Oyé announces Grammy-nominated Afrofuturist headliner

Grammy-nominated guitarist and singer, Fatoumata Diawara, is set to make her triumphant return to Sefton Park this summer, fifteen years after her first UK festival performance at the festival. 

The UK’s biggest celebration of African and Caribbean music and culture makes its return to Liverpool on 20th and 21st June this summer. Africa Oyé is the UK’s biggest celebration of African and Caribbean music and culture and returns on 20th and 21st June as a ticketed event following a fallow year in 2025.

Diawara is a well-known figure in African music whose performances ‘tell the story’ of the continent, with her being known for singing in her mother tongue, Bambara. Having fled Mali at the age of 19 to write her own story, Fatoumata Diawara continues, at 43, to examine society’s flaws while celebrating her dual life as an artist and a mother. 

Artistic Director of Africa Oyé, Paul Duhaney, said:

“I first met Fatou at Oyé when she was performing as part of the legendary Oumou Sangre’s band way back in the early days of the festival. She handed me a CD and told me she was launching a solo career. You could tell back then she was destined for big things and we booked her in 2011 for one of her first UK solo shows. It’s amazing to see how far she’s come since then and to be able to bring her back as a headliner this year.” 

Diawara recently made history, becoming the first woman of colour to be given an Epiphone signature guitar. At the 2019 Grammys, she was nominated for Best World Music Album. 

The organisers are committed to making it as affordable as possible for its audience, with Liverpool City Region dwellers currently able to buy tickets for just £11 – an Earlybird price freeze for locals. 

This year’s celebration, as always, will deliver an eclectic mix of international live acts, emerging talent, community performances, world cuisine and much more, with Nigerian Afrobeats star Patrotanking and Congolese eco-punks Fulu Miziki already announced for the event. 

Book your tickets for Africa Oye here.

We spoke to the creator of Africa Oye to find out what’s new for this year, find out more here.

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