One of Africa’s leading music and arts festival, Lake of Stars, will celebrate their 15th anniversary next year with festivals and events taking place in Malawi, London and Glasgow.
Known for hosting a festival on the beautiful shores of the Lake Malawi in Africa, the Lake of Stars project has run events and festivals in UK and Africa since 2003, showcasing artists from Malawi, across Africa and around the world. The festival has generated an estimated £1.3 million for Malawi’s economy each year and receives extensive global press coverage from the Guardian, BBC, CNN and more.
Taking place on Saturday 10 March 2018, LOS London is a one-day multi-venue arts festival set in Waltham Forest, championing new talent from the UK and Africa. The festival will host live and electronic music, poetry, theatre, film screenings, book readings and exhibitions across eight venues in Walthamstow with most activities being free entry. The mornings will be family-focused with craft workshops and puppet shows through to DJ workshops and interactive theatre.
The festival will close with a ticketed evening concert featuring artists from the UK, Malawi, Ghana and South Africa at Walthamstow Assembly Hall. Waltham Forest Council have announced plans to revive Walthamstow Assembly Hall as an arts, live music and recording venue, rebranded under the name WAH17, with an impressive programme of events for 2018, including LOS London.
Confirmed artists include internationally acclaimed, award-winning hip hop artist from Ghana, M.anifest and Malawian singer, songwriter Faith Mussa. More artists will be announced shortly.
Lakes of Stars Festival Founder Will Jameson, said:
“our 15th anniversary celebrations in London and Glasgow will offer a unique chance for UK artists to perform and collaborate with some of the best new acts from Africa. Over the years our events have attracted an amazing line up of talent from UK bands such as the Foals, Maccabees and Young Fathers through to African legends like Oliver Mtukudzi and Mafikizolo.
Having kick-started Malawi’s festival industry, we are taking things full circle by further developing platforms for African artists in the UK, which is why we are excited to be working with Waltham Forest Council to host our London-based events in such a vibrant borough which is bidding to become the first London Borough of Culture in 2019.
Walthamstow is experiencing a creative regeneration we want to help grow. Both Hoe Street and Wood Street are changing rapidly, with great venues, street art and a diverse community. LOS London will boost awareness of the area, engage local artists and contribute to the economy,” said Jameson.
Ahsan Khan, Cabinet Member for Libraries Arts and Culture at Waltham Forest Council, said:
“We are delighted to host Lake of Stars’ 2018 London event and to encourage such fantastic links between musicians in the UK and Africa. The festival will be one of the opening events of our new arts and live music programme at the Walthamstow Assembly Hall, which once hosted the likes of The Rolling Stones, Ronnie Scott and Eileen Joyce.”
Further details about the London festival will be announced soon, while details on the LOS Glasgow event will be announced in December. The Lake of Stars Festival will take place in Malawi from 28 to 30 September 2018.
