Concerts SA can fund your next music tour

Concerts SA’s Music Mobility Fund is looking for concerts to support and they’re waiting for your application.

This tour funding mechanism offers opportunities for professional South African musicians to undertake live music tours and provides support to live music performances, collaborations and performance-based workshops.

Following the success of the five previous rounds of funding, applications are once again open for the first iteration of Music Mobility Fund disbursements this year with the deadline being 26 February.

Tours should take place from late March until 15 June.

Since it was initiated in 2013, the Music Mobility Fund has received almost 600 applications and supported more than 110 tours with artists such as Tlokwe Sehume, Lindiwe Maxolo, Benjamin Jeptha, Wendy Oldfield, The Rudimentals and Tu Nokwe.

More than 500 musicians have successfully toured across the nine provinces as well as countries in Africa, playing almost 600 shows to more than 40 000 people, spanning genres from jazz to indigenous music, from folk to hip-hop and kwaito.

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Bonj Mpanza, vocalist of the band TheCITY, talked about their latest tour. “This was our first international tour and seeing people connect to our music so far from home was an amazing experience.

“Being afforded the privilege of experiencing the beautiful country and culture through music has been an unforgettable experience which we will treasure forever. After the tour, we are definitely more efficient and equipped to deal with any situation than before the tour.”

Reflecting on the assistance that he has received from the Music Mobility Fund, folk artist Joel Karabo Elliott said, “The JKE Roots Grown Deep journey into Limpopo in October last year was a remarkable experience for the ensemble and the people we touched.

“We travelled with seven artists – six musicians plus one photographer. The financial support from Concerts SA was critical to the success of the tour.”

Concerts SA, a division of the South African Music Rights Organisation, has made many musicians’ dreams come true through the fund and it aims to do the same this year.

Submit an application for your tour, concert, national or regional project before 26 February.

Details: concertssa@samro.org.za

Tweet @CityBuzzJHB to let us know what you think of this fund and how it helps local musicians.