Left to right: Dlala Thukzin, Chad Hendricks and Sun-El Musician will perform their catalogues reimagined with a full-scale symphonic orchestra under the baton of conductor Hendricks at an outdoor show at Montecasino, Johannesburg.
Image: Mpumelelo Macu
For the third Red Bull Symphonic in South Africa, organisers are turning up the volume and doing things differently. The 2026 Red Bull Symphonic edition, titled Afro House, Our Home, will, for the first time, feature two headliners sharing one stage.
As with the previous Red Bull Symphonics in South Africa, tickets have already sold out, leaving organisers in a pickle about adding more dates or tickets.
Previous, sold-out Red Bull Symphonic events have been headlined by Kabza De Small and Kelvin Momo.
House visionary Sun-El Musician and powerhouse Dlala Thukzin are set to dazzle and perform their catalogues reimagined with a full-scale symphonic orchestra under the baton of conductor Chad Hendricks at an outdoor show at Montecasino, Johannesburg.
House music birthed multiple sub genres, kwaito, gqom, amapiano and the emerging 3-Step wave and this year’s Red Bull Symphonic celebrates that lineage by pairing two artists who are influenced by the past and present and are shaping the future.
Sun-El Musician has built a reputation as one of the country’s most distinctive DJs and producers. His platinum-certified debut “Africa to the World" reached Apple Music’s Top 200 Electronic Albums Worldwide.
Songs like “Akanamali” and “Ubomi Abumanga” have become generational anthems.
“I’m happy to be part of this year’s Red Bull Symphonic,” said Sun-El Musician (real name is Sanele Sithole).
“It’s always special to be in spaces that truly celebrate the music. It feels like the right space for where I am right now and I’m looking forward to sharing something real for the people to feel.”
Lamontville, Durban native Dlala Thukzin has been commanding dance floors since the age of 12, forging a Gqom-rooted, genre-fusing sound that has produced gold-certified tracks in “Phuze Remix” and “iPlan”, collaborating with the likes of Babes Wodumo, DJ Tira, and Def Jam Africa.
With 368 million streams, 1.8 million monthly Spotify listeners, and 9.9 million Shazams, Thukzin’s reach cements his reputation as one of SA’s most electrifying live performers.
“It’s very inspiring to be a part of this year’s Red Bull Symphonic,” commented Dlala Thukzin's real name, Thuthuka Zindlovu.
“Sun El and I have created beautiful music respectively and coming together to produce this show is quite exciting. We aim to put up a great show for everyone,” he concluded.
Chad Hendricks, resident Conductor of the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic, Music Director of the Cape Town Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, and the youngest winner of South Africa’s national Conductors Competition, will be weaving the sounds together, bringing to life the symphony.
“Red Bull Symphonic brings together musical worlds that I simultaneously live in,” says Hendricks. “I can’t wait to create something that is uniquely and proudly South African.”
IOL