R&B secures new ground in South Africa’s live market
Organisers behind Cape Town's WAV Festival evaluate the event's breakthrough and importance with IQ
News By Tochi Louis | 10 March 2026
South Africa’s live scene is seeing an interesting cycle, with major crossover events drawing tens of thousands and a steady stream of international headliners reinforcing its status as the continent’s most bankable market.
With that maturity now evident, the market is beginning to support more targeted propositions. Promoters are doubling down on genre-specific events aimed at clearly segmented audiences rather than traditional multi-genre programming.
The same momentum that attracts global headliners is now sustaining narrower, more intentional formats,…