Blankets & Wine has announced its first 2026 edition will be held on Sunday, 7 June 2026 at Laureate Gardens, Moi International Sports Centre, Nairobi, unveiling a lineup led by Kenyan acts Labdi, Mordecai (Dexx), Mejja, Serro, Mutoriah and Watendawili, alongside Nigerian singer Fave.

In a press release dated 16 April 2026, the festival said the June event will be followed by two further editions on 6 September and 20 December 2026 as it begins its 2026 season.

The announcement also introduced “Your Taste Lives Here” as the festival’s 2026 campaign and “year-long cultural platform,” which organisers said will run across the three editions. According to the statement, the platform was launched on 14 April 2026 in Nairobi at Hit Labzz during the festival’s inaugural Storytellers Lab, which brought together media and the festival’s creative teams.

The June programme includes the festival’s electronic and alternative music offering on the Onja Onja Stage, with South Africa’s Goldmax scheduled to perform alongside Kenyan DJs Hiribae, DJ IV, LA Dave, Suraj and Sir M, the organisers said.

Blankets & Wine is produced by GoodTimes Africa and was founded in Nairobi in 2008 by Muthoni Ndonga. The organisers said the event is now in its 17th year. In Kenya’s events and creative economy, the festival’s continued run is closely watched by promoters, venues and brand sponsors as a barometer of consumer spending on live entertainment and the ability of large outdoor events to pull audiences across multiple dates in a year.

Muthoni Ndonga, Founder & Creative Director, said the event’s planning extends beyond music programming. “Every edition of Blankets & Wine begins with a question: what does it mean to gather well in this moment? 17 years of asking that question has taught us that the answer is never just about the lineup. It’s about the entire ecosystem — the music, the food, the energy, the people who show up and what they bring with them,” she said.

The festival also confirmed the return of the Onja Onja Market in 2026, describing it as a curated hub for “Made-in-Kenya” products spanning food, fashion and creative enterprise.

Michelle Njeri, Brand Manager, linked the market concept to the new platform. “The Onja Onja Market is where ‘Your Taste Lives Here’ becomes something you can touch, taste and take home. Every vendor is curated with the same intentionality as the lineup — these are the brands and makers who represent where Kenyan creativity is right now,” she said.

Ndonga added that the Onja Onja Stage is being positioned more distinctly within the festival’s offering. “Onja Onja has always been the home of the vibes at the festival. This evolution is about going deeper, giving the stage its own identity and the freedom to push the sound forward,” she said.

For Kenya’s wider entertainment and hospitality ecosystem, the three-date calendar has implications for suppliers and service providers tied to live events, including staging and production, security, ticketing, food and beverage vendors, and transport. The addition of a flexible ticket plan—described by the festival as “Lipa Pole Pole,” allowing payments in instalments—also reflects an approach increasingly used by event organisers to manage affordability constraints while maintaining attendance targets, though the organisers did not disclose ticket prices or uptake figures.

Blankets & Wine said tickets for the June 2026 edition are on sale via its website. The organisers did not provide financial projections, expected attendance, or sponsorship details in the statement, but said the 2026 platform will roll out across the June, September and December editions.

Blankets & Wine, produced by GoodTimes Africa, has announced the lineup for its Kenyan Summer 2025 edition, scheduled for Sunday, December 21, 2025 at Laureate Gardens, Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani in Nairobi. Organisers said the event will start at 12pm and will feature two stages, with tickets available via the Mookh platform.

The bill includes Kenyan acts Iyanii, Matata, Okello Max, Ssaru, Bridget Blue, Elsy Wameyo and Shad Mziki, alongside regional and international performers led by South Africa’s Scorpion Kings (Kabza De Small and DJ Maphorisa), Tanzania’s Marioo and UK artist Donae’o, according to the press release dated December 9, 2025.

The festival is being staged under the theme “COME WE DANCE!” and is partnered with the British Council’s UK/Kenya Season 2025, which the organisers described as a cultural exchange initiative linking UK and Kenyan creative industries. The partnership follows Blankets & Wine’s UK debut in Bradford earlier in 2025, the statement said, adding that the collaboration is extending back to Nairobi for the December event.

“Our debut in Bradford, UK this year, proved that the Blankets & Wine experience travels and that African creativity resonates globally,” said Muthoni Drummer Queen, Creative Director of Blankets & Wine. “Bringing Donae’o to Nairobi is a full-circle celebration for us, showing that the UK/Kenya Season is not a moment but a movement.”

A British Council spokesperson said the organisation would continue supporting the partnership. “We are delighted to continue this partnership. Blankets & Wine embodies the mutual exchange and creative innovation that the UK/Kenya Season was built to champion,” the spokesperson said.

On the main stage, organisers said South Africa’s Mi Casa will also perform, adding to a lineup that blends Kenyan genres such as gengetone with Afrofusion, R&B and contemporary African pop. The Onja Onja Stage will focus on electronic and alternative programming, featuring Foozak, Tina Ardor, Ms. Mika, Darkfruit, Shishi, and a back-to-back set from Aly Fresh, Mura and Big Nyagz, the release said.

Beyond music, organisers said the Onja Onja Market will return as a holiday marketplace for Kenyan fashion, food, art, wellness and lifestyle brands. The market is positioned as a platform for local traders to reach festival audiences during the year-end consumer season, when discretionary spending typically rises for leisure, gifting and travel-related activities.

The announcement underscores the growing role of ticketed live entertainment in Kenya’s urban consumer economy, with events increasingly bundling music, food and retail experiences into a single spend occasion. For Kenyan brands and SMEs, festival marketplaces have become an additional route to customer acquisition and product testing, while large-format venues such as Kasarani provide the scale needed for higher-capacity events.

Organisers also said Blankets & Wine, now in its 17th year, is focusing on operational and production improvements. “For years, we’ve worked tirelessly to delight audiences through exceptional artistry and dependable production. Now we are sharpening our operations, sound, staging, hospitality and accessibility,” said Muthoni Drummer Queen.

Justine Mbugua, Head of Festivals at Blankets & Wine, said the team is prioritising service execution. “Each edition strengthens the cultural ecosystem. We are deeply focused on service excellence and creating a seamless experience from entry to exit,” she said.

Next milestones include ticket sales performance ahead of the December date and the release of additional programming details around staging and market vendors. The organisers said more information is available on the festival’s website and social channels, while media inquiries are being handled by Anyiko Public Relations.

Blankets & Wine, a GoodTimes Africa production, closed its 2025 calendar with the Kenyan Summer 2025 edition held on Sunday, December 21, at Laureate Gardens, Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani in Nairobi, according to the organisers.

The December event, staged under the theme “COME WE DANCE!” and delivered in partnership with the British Council’s UK/Kenya Season 2025, brought together “thousands of festival-goers” and featured two performance stages and an Onja Onja Market focused on Kenyan brands, the organisers said.

Blankets & Wine has grown into one of Nairobi’s established live entertainment properties, supporting a supply chain that includes event production, hospitality, brand partnerships, artist management, vendors and creative SMEs. Its continued regional and international activity also signals the increasing role of Kenyan-led cultural events in cross-border tourism and creative economy linkages across East Africa.

On the Main Stage, the lineup included Kenyan acts Shad Mziki, Bridget Blue, Elsy Wameyo, Okello Max, Ssaru, Matata and Iyanii. The organisers said the bill also featured Scorpion Kings (Kabza De Small & DJ Maphorisa), describing the performance as the duo’s first in Kenya, alongside Tanzania’s Marioo and South Africa’s Mi Casa.

The Onja Onja Stage ran from earlier in the day into the night and featured UK artist Donae’o as well as Kenyan DJs and performers including Darkfruit, Shishi, Foozak, Tina Ardor and Ms. Mika. The organisers said the stage closed with a back-to-back set from Aly Fresh, Mura and Big Nyagz.

Organisers linked the December edition to the festival’s broader international agenda in 2025. They said September 2025 marked the festival’s first UK edition, held in Bradford, which they framed as part of Blankets & Wine’s international expansion and as a continuation of collaboration with the British Council. The inclusion of Donae’o on the December lineup was described as a continuation of that partnership.

“2025 has been a defining year for us. From Bradford back to Nairobi, we’ve shown that Blankets & Wine is more than an event - it’s a living cultural platform that travels, evolves and connects people through music and joy,” said Muthoni Drummer Queen, Creative Director of Blankets & Wine, in the statement. She added: “Special thanks to the British Council’s UK/Kenya Season 2025 for supporting a fitting close to a truly transformative year for the festival, including our first-ever international edition in Bradford, UK.”

Diane Ywaya, Communications Manager at GoodTimes Africa, said the event’s programming and community support were central to its delivery. “What a powerful way to close the year. From the main stage to Onja Onja, the market and the dance floor, you reminded us why Blankets & Wine exists,” she said, thanking the community, artists and partners.

Justine Mbugua, Head of Festivals at Blankets & Wine, said operational execution remained a priority across the year’s editions. “Every edition this year reflected months of careful planning and a deep focus on service excellence. From production and hospitality to artist experience to audience flow, we are proud of the standard we delivered and the trust our community continues to place in us,” Mbugua said.

Beyond performances, organisers said the Onja Onja Market returned with a “Made in Kenya” theme, featuring Kenyan fashion, food, art, wellness and lifestyle brands. The market component is a revenue and visibility channel for local vendors, and it aligns with a broader trend in Kenya’s events industry where festivals increasingly bundle live entertainment with retail, food and experiential activations.

Looking ahead, the organisers said Blankets & Wine is entering its 17th year, positioning the 2025 close as a foundation for future editions and partnerships. Key milestones to watch will include the festival’s 2026 calendar announcements and whether it expands further into new markets following the 2025 Bradford event.