The Long Listen

The name comes from the Luganda word ekinyegenyege, which the Daily Monitor glosses as an uncontrollable urge to move. The festival that took it began in October 2015 at the Nile Discovery Resort in Njeru, and for its eleventh edition it sits where it has for the last two years: Adrift Overland Camp at Kalagala Falls, a stretch of the Victoria Nile about 58 kilometres from Kampala, where the river comes off the rocks white. Four days and three nights, Thursday 19 to Sunday 22 November 2026. Seven stages. More than 200 artists by the organisers' own count at the launch, over 300 by the website's.

This year's theme is the Wakaliwood Edition. Ramon Film Productions, the action-cinema outfit from Wakaliga, is part of the festival, and parts of the grounds will run as working movie sets, with the crowd invited in as extras during the music. Derek Debru, who co-founded the festival, described it at the launch as "part music festival, part movie set, and part playground". The Reggae Stage and Boiler Room are back. There are Kenyan and Rwandan takeover showcases, and a film strand for the first time.

Before any of that, the African Electronic Music Conference runs its second edition on 17, 18 and 19 November: artists, label people, managers and cultural organisations on touring logistics, creative infrastructure and how independent music gets distributed across the continent. If your trip is partly work, arrive for the Tuesday.