{"id":54190,"date":"2026-03-28T09:29:18","date_gmt":"2026-03-28T09:29:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/?p=54190"},"modified":"2026-03-28T09:29:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T09:29:18","slug":"2026-03-28-salif-keita-pulls-out-of-montreux-jazz-festival-franschhoek-due-to-illness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/2026\/03\/28\/2026-03-28-salif-keita-pulls-out-of-montreux-jazz-festival-franschhoek-due-to-illness\/","title":{"rendered":"Salif Keita pulls out of Montreux Jazz Festival Franschhoek due to illness \u2013 The Mail &#038; Guardian"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"post-thumbnail \"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Salif-Keita-pulls-out-of-Montreux-Jazz-Festival-Franschhoek-due.jpg?resize=640%2C427&#038;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"Salifkeitaphoto\u00a9byal Fousenikonate&amp;carolinavallejo\" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" srcset=\"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Salif-Keita-pulls-out-of-Montreux-Jazz-Festival-Franschhoek-due.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/mg.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/SALIFKEITAPhoto\u00a9byAl_fouseniKonateCarolinaVallejo-400x267.jpg 400w, https:\/\/mg.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/SALIFKEITAPhoto\u00a9byAl_fouseniKonateCarolinaVallejo-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/mg.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/SALIFKEITAPhoto\u00a9byAl_fouseniKonateCarolinaVallejo-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/mg.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/SALIFKEITAPhoto\u00a9byAl_fouseniKonateCarolinaVallejo-2048x1365.jpg 2048w, https:\/\/mg.co.za\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/SALIFKEITAPhoto\u00a9byAl_fouseniKonateCarolinaVallejo-600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\"\/><\/div>\n<p>Salif Keita  celebrates Montreux\u2019s arrival in Africa, urging artists to honour their roots while embracing music as a universal language<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">Salif Keita has pulled out of this weekend\u2019s Montreux Jazz Festival Franschhoek due to illness, organisers confirmed today.<\/p>\n<p>The festival said in a statement that Keita is unable to travel to South Africa following a sudden illness that requires an emergency medical procedure. He will therefore no longer perform at the inaugural African edition of the Montreux Jazz Festival, currently underway in Franschhoek.<\/p>\n<p>The news comes just days after Keita reaffirmed his connection to the country. Speaking to the <em>Mail &amp; Guardian<\/em> last week, he said: \u201cI have a bond with South Africa. Deep in my heart, I am South African. I was part of the movement for Mandela\u2019s liberation and I was close friends with the legendary Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba. South Africa is in my veins \u2026 an incredibly special country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Despite his absence, his band will go ahead with Saturday\u2019s performance. The set will follow the repertoire originally prepared for the festival, with Aicha Mariko and Fatoumata Soubeiga taking on vocal duties. Both singers, whom Keita has described as his daughters, are expected to deliver a tribute performance in his honour.<\/p>\n<p>Organisers said proceeding with the band reflects both a commitment to audiences and to the music Keita intended to present. While he will not be on stage, his work remains part of the programme.<\/p>\n<p>They also extended well wishes to the artist, expressing hope for a full and speedy recovery, and indicated that they look forward to welcoming him back to a future edition of the festival.<\/p>\n<p>The Montreux Jazz Festival Franschhoek, making its debut on the continent, features a broad line-up of local and international acts. Keita\u2019s withdrawal is a significant change to the billing, but organisers say the weekend programme remains intact.<\/p>\n<p>For ticket holders, this means an adjusted line-up rather than a cancellation. Keita will not perform, but his music will still be heard.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\" async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- Africa tv video display -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1669381584671856\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"3579572842\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script data-jetpack-boost=\"ignore\">\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n#Salif #Keita #pulls #Montreux #Jazz #Festival #Franschhoek #due #illness #Mail #Guardian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Salif Keita celebrates Montreux\u2019s arrival in Africa, urging artists to honour their roots while embracing music as a universal language&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":54191,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mzansi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54190"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54190\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":54192,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54190\/revisions\/54192"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eduzim.co.zw\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}