Africa Rising Music Conference 2026 Concludes in Johannesburg with International Collaborations, Artist Development Initiatives and 2027 Dates Announced

Africa Rising Music Conference 2026 concluded this past weekend at Constitution Hill with artists, executives, policymakers and creatives from more than 15 countries featuring across two days of panels, networking events, live performances and industry discussions focused on the future of African music and culture.

The 2026 edition welcomed over 1,000 attendees and featured appearances from artists and cultural figures including Elaine, TRESOR, Kim Jayde and Janesh, alongside representatives from the German Embassy Pretoria, the Australian High Commission Pretoria and the Embassy of Sweden in Pretoria.

One of the conference’s key announcements was the launch of the Music Mentorship Program for South African Artists - a new initiative created in partnership with the German Embassy Pretoria, ARMC and Paradise Worldwide. The programme will support selected South African artists through international mentorship, release strategy guidance, mastering, artwork creation and promotional support and aims to strengthen long-term creative exchange between South Africa and Germany.

ARMC 2026 also introduced the Berlin AI Think Tank in Africa, which focused on discussions around artificial intelligence, licensing, creator rights and fair remuneration within the music industry. Contributors included SAMPRA, CAPASSO, AIxchange, AFEM and Fraunhofer IDMT, with conversations centred on building a sustainable and independent Pan-African AI ecosystem for music and the creative industries.

Australia served as the conference’s official international focus country for 2026, with the SA Meets Australia Networking Reception presented alongside Creative Australia and Alchemy Music. The programme included a live performance from Australian artist DOBBY, who collaborated onstage with emerging South African rappers during an improvised freestyle session. Additional performances across the conference came from artists including Henrik Schwarz, Mörda, Rouge and Doowap.

Organisers have also confirmed the return of the conference for 21–22 May 2027, with early bird tickets now available, while applications for the newly launched mentorship programme are also open.Get tickets here