The Fête de La Musique is back again this year, in Newtown Johannesburg. For those of you who are unaware, this is a music festival that was established in 1982 in France. Since that time, it has expanded to over 700 countries around the world, including our very own South Africa. This festival celebrates cultures from all over the world, and although the festival did not originate in Africa, it has allowed local South African artists to showcase their original music to the masses. Daniella and I attended, and we were quite surprised by the large variety of music genres at the festival; ranging from traditional music to hip-hop, rap, techno, and so much more. Basically, there was something for everyone.

Unlike a lot of other music festivals, Fête de La Musique allows amateur and professional musicians to perform together. Not only that, the festival adds a little more flavour to the mix where artists perform not only on stages, but also in the streets, gardens and courtyards within Newtown. As such, the event provides a vibrant and exciting atmosphere, which was a great way to spend time with family and friends.

The previous year the festival attracted close to 30,000 music lovers. Despite knowing this, Daniella and I were particularly surprised at the large turnout of people. The crowds were so big that we actually struggled to find a good place to sit and enjoy the music. Although it was extremely packed, there were chairs and pillows provided in some areas, but audiences basically sat in any place they could find.

As much as Daniella and I would have loved to have seen all of the performances (we only managed to enjoy five of them), there were a total of 19 Music line ups at the event, and each one brought their own unique South African flair to the surrounding atmosphere. Below are some pictures of the artists that performed and of our time at Fête de La Musique 2017.

From the magic of the Harry Potter saga through to the trials and tribulations of The Hunger Games, Diona adores losing herself in fictional worlds of magic, love and hope. She is currently a Bachelor of Social Science student with a specialisation in Communications and Media, and hopes to one day be the star of her very own 'talk show'.