Nyege Nyege is going back to the Nile — and this time, everyone’s getting a role.
The Ugandan festival will return to Adrift at Kalagala Falls from Nov. 19-22 for its 11th edition, bringing more than 200 artists across seven stages alongside film, fashion, visual art, performance, adventure tourism and cultural programming. But the festival’s biggest production this year won’t be confined to a stage: Nyege Nyege XI will double as a movie set in collaboration with Wakaliwood, Uganda’s cult independent film movement.
Dubbed “The Wakaliwood Edition,” the 2026 festival will turn parts of its sprawling Nile-side site into a living cinematic universe, with scenes for a new film shot during the four-day event. Artists, performers and festivalgoers will become part of the action — blurring the line between audience and cast.
“After ten editions, we wanted to enter the next chapter by doing something that could only happen here,” Nyege Nyege co-founder Derek Debru said. “Nyege Nyege and Wakaliwood share a similar spirit: creating with what you have, building your own world and then finding ways of sharing that world far beyond Uganda.”
That DIY spirit has become a defining feature of both movements. Born in Kampala’s Wakaliga neighborhood, Wakaliwood developed an international cult following through its handmade action movies, improvised effects, humor and distinctly Ugandan aesthetic. Nyege Nyege, meanwhile, has spent the past decade turning Uganda into an essential stop on the global alternative-music circuit.
This year, those two worlds collide.
“The festival becomes part music festival, part movie set, part playground, with the Nile running through the middle of it all,” Debru said.
A New Chapter on the Nile
The return to Kalagala Falls follows Nyege Nyege’s 10th anniversary edition at the same location in 2025. The festival’s second decade will build on that experience with improvements to entrances, parking, site movement and accommodation, including an expanded camping village designed to host approximately 1,000 people.
The festival footprint will also expand into Adrift River Club, while adventure activities around the Nile will further position the event as something bigger than a conventional music festival.
For Talent Africa Group CEO Aly Allibhai, which is involved in the festival’s organisation, the setting is central to its broader ambitions.
“We are excited to officially announce the return of Nyege Nyege Festival for its 11th edition,” Allibhai said. “This year we are building an even broader festival experience, bringing together music, tourism, adventure, film, fashion and Uganda’s creative industries.”
That expansion reflects how Nyege Nyege has evolved since its beginnings in Kampala in 2015. What started as an independent gathering has become an international platform for artists, cultural organisations, journalists, music professionals and audiences seeking sounds and scenes outside the mainstream.
200-Plus Artists, Seven Stages
Music, however, remains the festival’s beating heart.
Across seven stages, more than 200 artists will represent Uganda, East Africa, the wider African continent and international underground scenes. The programme is expected to span electronic music, live bands, club sounds, experimental music and evolving traditional forms, with the popular Dub & Reggae Stage also returning.
The festival will put a particular spotlight on East Africa through dedicated Kenyan and Rwandan takeovers, continuing Nyege Nyege’s role as a meeting point for the region’s rapidly evolving independent music ecosystems.
The first wave of artists and the full stage programme will be announced in the coming weeks.
The festival’s SO UG Stage, powered by Uganda Waragi, has already revealed a first group of names including King Saha, Sheila Gashumba, Etania — The Life of the Party, Linus, Abeeka Band and Jackie Chandiru. The platform will extend beyond music into comedy, fashion, visual art and interactive experiences celebrating contemporary Ugandan popular culture.
Meanwhile, Boiler Room will return to Nyege Nyege in 2026, continuing its relationship with the festival and connecting Ugandan and African artists with the global music platform’s international audience. Its programme will be announced with the forthcoming lineup.
From Music Festival to Creative-Economy Platform
Nyege Nyege’s expansion also reflects a growing ambition to connect music with Uganda’s wider creative and tourism economy.
In partnership with Explore Uganda, the national tourism brand of the Uganda Tourism Board, the festival will offer curated tourism experiences linking visitors to destinations, cultural experiences and adventure activities across the country.
A special AFCON experience will also bring football into the festival’s broader entertainment programme.
And before the music begins, Nyege Nyege will host the second edition of the African Electronic Music Conference (AEMC) from Nov. 17-19. The conference will bring together artists, labels, promoters, collectives and cultural organisations from Africa and its diaspora to discuss touring, artist development, creative infrastructure, collaboration and the future of the continent’s music ecosystem.
Launched in 2025, AEMC is also developing into a year-round platform designed to map and connect the artists, clubs, organisations and independent scenes shaping African electronic and alternative music.
In that sense, Nyege Nyege’s next chapter is not simply about putting more artists on more stages. It is about building an ecosystem around them.
Life Is a Movie
The Wakaliwood collaboration may ultimately prove to be the most fitting expression of that philosophy.
For four days, the festival will function simultaneously as concert, cultural gathering, adventure destination and film set. Festivalgoers won’t simply watch the spectacle — they could become part of it.
It is an idea that feels particularly at home at Nyege Nyege, where discovery and unpredictability have always been part of the attraction.
After a decade of building its reputation as one of Africa’s most adventurous festivals, Nyege Nyege is entering its second decade with a new proposition: the festival itself is the story.
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