rnbsoulsa
WAV Festival Brings Ty Dolla $ign and KWN To South Africa For A New R&B Weekend
South Africa is starting 2027 with R&B at the centre of the conversation.
After launching in Cape Town earlier this year, WAV Festival is returning in January 2027 with a bigger footprint and two international names leading the way: American hitmaker Ty Dolla $ign and British R&B singer KWN.
The festival will take place in Cape Town on January 2, before travelling to Pretoria on January 3 for its first edition at SunBet Arena.
For a festival built around contemporary R&B, the expansion feels significant.
WAV isn’t simply bringing international artists to South Africa, its identity is built around placing global R&B in conversation with African creativity, fashion and culture.
This time, the festival is taking that conversation to another city.
Ty Dolla $ign Comes To Mzansi
For Ty Dolla $ign, the South African visit marks his first performance in the country.
The Los Angeles artist has spent years moving comfortably between R&B, hip hop and pop, becoming one of those artists whose voice can appear almost anywhere without losing its identity.
His catalogue is filled with collaborations that have helped shape contemporary mainstream R&B, but his own music has always maintained a strong connection to melody and soul.
There is also already a connection between Ty and South Africa’s music scene.
The artist has previously spoken about making music with the Major League DJz and JazziQ, his arrival now gives him the opportunity to experience the country and its music culture in real time.
For South African fans who have spent years hearing his voice across some of the biggest records in global music, seeing him on a local stage will be a different experience altogether.
KWN Is Bringing A New R&B Perspective
WAV Festival presents KWN, the British singer-songwriter whose emotionally driven approach to R&B has been steadily building an international audience.
KWN represents another side of what WAV is achieving in real time.
Her music is contemporary, intimate and deeply connected to the younger audiences experiencing R&B today.
There is already a small connection between KWN and South African music culture.
Her track “Back Of The Club” has previously found its way into an amapiano remix featuring Uncle Waffles’ “Zenzele”, while KWN has also spoken positively about the possibility of working with the South African DJ.
When KWN arrives in South Africa, she isn’t entering the country without any connection to its sound.
There is already a musical conversation surrounding her name that’s waiting for her.
WAV Is Getting Bigger
The first WAV Festival took place in Cape Town in January 2026, with a lineup that included Mariah The Scientist, Kelvin Momo, Shekhinah, Manana, Nanette and others.
For its second edition, WAV is expanding beyond Cape Town and adding Pretoria to the map.
That matters.
South Africa’s R&B audience isn’t concentrated in one place, and bringing the festival to two cities creates another opportunity for fans to experience international R&B without having to travel across the country.
Cape Town gets the first wave.
Pretoria gets the second.
R&B Through An African Lens
What makes WAV interesting is that it isn’t presenting R&B as something that simply arrives from America or Britain.
The festival describes itself as a celebration of R&B through an African lens, connecting international artists with African creativity and perspective.
That distinction is important.
R&B has always travelled.
It has been reshaped by different cities, generations and cultures, and South Africa has developed its own relationship with the genre through artists who have taken soul, jazz, hip hop, house and African influences and folded them into their own sound.
WAV is creating a physical space for those conversations to happen.
Two Cities. One Weekend.
January 2027 will give South African R&B fans two chances to catch the festival.
WAV Cape Town takes place on Saturday, January 2, 2027, while WAV Pretoria follows on Sunday, January 3, 2027, at SunBet Arena. More artists are still expected to be announced.
That last part is worth keeping a look out for.
KWN and Ty Dolla $ign may be the names currently leading the announcement but WAV has already established itself around the idea of bringing together international R&B with African artists and culture.
So there is still more to come.
South Africa Is Ready For The Wave
There is something fitting about beginning a new year with a festival built around R&B.
The genre has never stopped evolving and neither has the audience listening to it.
Ty Dolla $ign brings years of global experience.
KWN represents a younger generation pushing R&B somewhere new.
Mzansi brings its own history, creativity and interpretation of the sound.
When WAV lands in Cape Town and Pretoria, it won’t just be another international festival passing through.It will be another meeting point between the R&B world that listeners have been connecting to through their headphones for years.
The wave is coming to Mzansi.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings