Burundian music veterans Africa Nova and Léonce Ngabo to headline Bujumbura’s Old Music Event

Africa Nova and Léonce Ngabo, two of the most familiar voices in Burundian popular music, will perform together at the third Old Music Event, at Arena Bar in Bujumbura on 30 October 2026. They are 76 and 75 respectively.

They will be joined by Sylvestre Ciza, Mathias Mijugiro and Rose Twagirayezu. The line-up is one of the strongest the event has assembled. The concert is aimed at audiences who grew up with these artists on radio and, for some, on national television.

Gretta Kwizera, the event’s organiser, said it is meant to give music lovers a chance to remember the older generation of Burundian artists. Speaking in Kirundi, she said the event also aims to honour the singers “we grew up listening to,” both living and dead.

Africa Nova’s real name is Antoine Marie Rugerinyange. He wrote many songs that remain popular, including “Wiyizire Ma”, “Yarantumye”, “Umurundikazi” and “Ntukamyinyegeze”. His role in the industry went beyond his own recordings. In the mid-1990s he set up Burundi Music Studio in Bujumbura, the country’s first multi-track recording studio, according to the Music In Africa overview of Burundi’s recording industry. At the time he led Amabano Band and the National Orchestra.

Africa Nova told reporters he hoped the concert would answer a question that some of his audience may have about him. “We know people love our songs very much,” he said. He added that the event would let him perform those songs again, and let audiences see the older artists in person, because many people believe they have died.

Léonce Ngabo wrote songs including “Sagamba Burundi”, “Nzomuha icashaka”, “N’umugabo” and “Simoni yananiye”. He is also known well beyond music. He was born in Bujumbura in 1951 and studied chemistry in Algiers. He directed the School of Telecommunications in Bujumbura, made many recordings as a singer, and founded choirs and orchestras. His 1992 film “Gito l’ingrat” was Burundi’s first feature film. He later founded FESTICAB, the country’s international film and broadcasting festival.

At the press conference, Ngabo thanked the organisers and described the event as important for the history of Burundian music. He recalled how musicians of his generation were seen when they started out. Parents and teachers, he said, believed anyone who went into music would amount to nothing, and some considered them unintelligent. “They did not know that music is a gift,” he said.

This year’s edition adds a segment in which young singers will perform songs by two artists who have died, Jean-Christophe Matata and Canjo Amissi. The young singers will also perform Amabano songs. Matata was born in Bujumbura in 1960 and wrote more than 200 songs. He spent part of his career in Rwanda, where he moved in 1986 and launched a solo career, and he died in January 2011. Canjo Amissi was linked to Africa Nova through Amabano. A 1987 photograph of the band’s line-up, published with a reissue of its album “Amsterdam Ticket”, shows the two musicians side by side.

The tribute segment ties into wider foreign interest in Burundi’s back catalogue. Burundian pop from the 1970s and 1980s has long been a blind spot for collectors outside the region, and the Afro7 reissue of Amabano’s album brought renewed attention to that period.

Tickets cost 50,000 Burundian francs for standard admission. The price falls to 30,000 francs for buyers who pay through iNgodo yanje and BCB. VIP tickets cost 100,000 francs.

The organisers have not said how many people they expect, or whether the event will continue after this edition. They have also not announced the full set lists or the young performers taking part in the tribute.