MTN Bushfire 2025 a pilgrimage of rhythm

By Mrs M

MTN Bushfire returned with a blaze. Three days. Thousands of people. Great music. Good food. 

The MTN Bushfire 2025 was more than a festival. It was a three-day pilgrimage of rhythm, resistance and radiance. 

Tucked away in the Malkerns Valley, beneath the canopies of rural Eswatini, the renowned House on Fire venue once again transformed into a sanctuary for music lovers, artisans, food enthusiasts, and conscious consumers from across the globe.

This year, the festival returned with its usual poetic force, offering a seamless blend of local authenticity and global creativity.

 It honoured tradition while refusing to sit still. From the tempo of the main stage to the hush of the poetry corners, every moment felt choreographed by something greater than logistics. It felt like home, even for those visiting for the first time.

Music 

The music was the backbone, the heartbeat, the pulse. The Main Stage lit up each evening with a meticulously curated selection of acts that pushed boundaries and pulled heartstrings. 

On Friday, which is the first day of the festival, the cultural curtain-raiser saw the Mantenga Cultural Village Dance Group welcome early arrivals with rhythm and reverence, grounding the crowd in the spirit of Eswatini.

As the sun dipped and the sky shifted to charcoal, Mozambique's Assa Matusse set a warm tone, her voice textured with the grit and grace of her heritage. 

Then came Jembaa Groove, blending Ghanaian highlife and German jazz with astonishing ease, reminding the crowd that fusion, when done right, can feel like destiny.

But it was Boom Shaka who revived the fire. With a legacy rooted in kwaito and defiant dance, their performance was nostalgic and revolutionary.

 Zee Nxumalo followed with a set as youthful as it was polished. She's one of the few emerging voices capable of navigating amapiano’s current dominance with poise and melodic control.

And then came K.O. As expected, his delivery was surgical. The Skhanda pioneer drew the night to a close with lyricism steeped in street wisdom, performing with a quiet authority that needed no fireworks to impress.

Saturday took on a fuller tempo. From the alternative depth of Iphupho L'ka Biko to the magnetic soul of Zimbabwe's Feli Nandi, the range was rich and deliberately unpredictable. 

Young Zesh and Lyrikal Busta were a local highlight, delivering their bars with youthful defiance. Their chemistry was unteachable, and their set earned them an ovation that felt generational.

However the night belonged to Inkabi Zezwe. When Sjava and Big Zulu took the stage, they brought not just music but storytelling, history, and masculinity reimagined. Their set was both tender and explosive. 

Earlier, Thandiswa Mazwai had appeared as a special guest alongside 340ml and the pairing felt like a cosmic alignment, her voice soaring above basslines like a benediction.

Sunday, as always, slowed things down without lowering the standard. Aymos delivered a high-energy set that somehow managed to feel intimate. 

Ladysmith Black Mambazo offered spiritual clarity through harmony, and MÖRDA ended the festival with a pulsing, curated set that blurred the line between DJ and composer.

The Fashion and Marketplace

Bushfire has always been more than music. It is a cultural mirror and a runway without walls. This year, the fashion was at once effortless and intentional. Linen, leather, upcycled denim, and beaded accessories told a story of slow fashion and African futurism.

Nowhere was this more evident than at The Barn Marketplace, which introduced the Sustainable Shopping Guide for the first time. 

The guide was more than a list, It encouraged festivalgoers to rethink how they consume: choosing handmade over mass-produced, organic over synthetic, local over imported.

Brands at the forefront included designers reimagining traditional Swazi silhouettes in contemporary cuts, eco-friendly skincare lines made from indigenous plants, and homeware that transformed found objects into functional art. It was fashion that whispered, not screamed. That healed, not harmed.

 A celebration of taste

The food, as always, was a festival within the festival. There was no single cuisine that defined the offering; instead, the menu was a mosaic. 

Thai stir-fry sizzled beside Swazi braai. Plant-based menus competed with farm-fresh meats. Vegan lentil curries, handcrafted pizzas, and fermented kombucha were served beside wood-fired meats and traditional maize dishes.

The curation of vendors seemed guided by the same ethos that defined the entire weekend: quality over quantity, story over spectacle. Many food stalls displayed not just menus, but the provenance of their ingredients. It was slow food, shared fast. And yet nothing felt rushed.

Wellness, craft and community

Away from the main stage and sound systems, the festival’s quieter corners offered moments of deep introspection and connection. 

There were sunrise yoga sessions, creative workshops for children, and open dialogues around sustainability, mental health, and gender equity.

Various poets, and performers, led an intimate session in one of the spoken-word corners. With sparse language and arresting imagery, his presence offered a reminder that Bushfire values the pen as much as the drum.

The Firefly Stage, meanwhile, offered a contrasting aesthetic, a playground for electronic enthusiasts and genre-defying DJs. 

From Celumusa to DJ Merlon, the vibe here was both immersive and expansive. Each set felt like a miniature rebellion against genre boundaries.

A Festival With Purpose

It would be easy to describe MTN Bushfire as merely a good time. But to do so would be reductive. The festival has long established itself as a platform for social justice, artistic integrity, and community development.

With its mantra ‘Bring Your Fire’ the invitation has never been to simply attend, but to participate. Whether that means buying local, dancing barefoot under the stars, or engaging in difficult conversations at the NGO Marketplace, every attendee is expected to show up with intention.

This year, the green thread running through it all was the call to #GreenYourFire a campaign to align passion with purpose, and consumption with consciousness. And in every corner of the venue, that call was answered.

MTN Bushfire 2025 did not disappoint. It was elevated. It was challenging. It was soothing. In an era of festivals bloated with influencers and sponsorship noise, Bushfire stood out by staying true to itself. 

It reminded us that music, art, food, and fashion can still mean something. That we can celebrate without compromise. That we can dance and still care.

And when the fires dimmed and the valley quieted once more, those who came left with more than memories. They left changed.

SEE YOU AT THE NEXT ONE.