ZWA | Friday 11th – Sunday 13th December
innate creates presents ZWA… music, words, feels, culture
The word ZWA is from the Ndebele language spoken by the Ndebele people of Zimbabwe – it means to hear, to understand, to feel, to taste.
ZWA is a celebration of music and spoken word across three days and two venues.
If you’re into jazz or sound system culture or poetry or community vibes or stunning vocals or positive learnings & actions or dancing… we got you.
TICKETS…
BUY TICKETS Ni Maxine | Friday 11th December at Norwich Arts Centre
BUY TICKETS Dennis Bovell X Rebel Lion Sound System | Saturday 12th December at Norwich Arts Centre
Friday 11th December | Ni Maxine
neo-jazz
Award-winning Liverpool based ‘neo-jazz star, Ni Maxine’ (NME) is one to watch. Her music moves between past and future, blending conscious lyricism, rich storytelling, and an unshakable sense of self as she detangles her transatlantic roots.
For Ni Maxine, the stage isn’t just about performance, ‘it’s communion.’ (Wordplay Magazine). Themes of home, identity, self-worth, and belonging weave through her work, creating something that feels both deeply personal and universally resonant.
Taking home ‘Breakthrough Act of The Year’ at The Jazz FM Awards 2025 marks the beginning of a significant chapter for Ni Maxine. She consistently pushes the boundaries of jazz, locking in support from tastemakers Jamz Supernova and Gilles Peterson across the BBC, Worldwide FM, Selector Radio and more.
From We Out Here Festival to The Jazz Cafe, wherever she plays, she pulls people in. With a string of sold-out shows and a nomination in the NOTION New Music Awards behind her, Ni Maxine isn’t just rising; she’s redefining what it means to belong in this moment of UK music.
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TICKETS here
Massive thanks to Arts Council England for their support of this event.
Saturday 12th December | Dennis Bovell X Rebel Lion Sound System
reggae, lovers rock, roots, dub
Dennis Bovell has earned himself the reputation of being Britain’s Reggae Maestro, from pioneering early developments in the genre over 40 years ago to producing classic hits. He is renowned as an accomplished multi- instrumentalist (playing guitar, bass and keyboards), sound engineer, composer, band leader and producer and continues to lead the UK scene with innovative and adventurous music.
Born in Barbados in 1953, Dennis Bovell joined his parents in London when he was twelve. Whilst still at school Bovell joined his first band, Road Works Ahead, before forming the group Stonehenge. Influenced by rocksteady, this band gave birth to the three-part harmony section that was later to become the trademark of Bovell’s next group, Matumbi, formed in 1970.
Matumbi (meaning ‘reborn’ in Yoruba) were to become Britain’s premier reggae band at a time when the genre was spreading from Jamaica to a wider international audience. After a period backing visiting Jamaican artists such as Pat Kelly and Ken Booth, the band enhanced their reputation further with a string of successful singles. After Tonight, the band’s first hit, is to this day played on continuous rewind in the Revival Hall of Fame and another single, The Man In Me is regarded as a British reggae classic. In 1979 Matumbi reached the UK Top Ten charts with Point of View. Altogether the band made four albums for EMI.
At the same time Bovell was building his formidable reputation as a musician, producer and sound engineer, collaborating with great artists including I Roy, Steel Pulse, Errol Dunkley and Johnny Clarke. After leaving Matumbi, Bovell continued to diversify his musical talents. He produced Janet Kay’s huge hit Silly Games, which reached number two in the UK charts in 1979 and opened his own recording facility Studio 80.
Dennis Bovell is one of the founders of the Lovers Rock genre and he recorded a host of artists such as Marie Pierre, Paul Dawkins, Trevor Hartley, Louisa Mark and more. Bovell also formed the Dub Band, beginning an enduring partnership with reggae poet Linton Kwesi Johnson which has resulted in classic albums including Forces of Victory (1979), Bass Culture (1980), Tings An’ Times (1991) and LKJ in Dub: Volumes One and Two (1981, 1992).
Rebel Lion Sound System is a reggae, roots and dub sound system that has been running for almost three decades. Founded and operated by brothers Simon (aka Siman Reality), Tim (aka Maka T) and Finbarr (aka Militant Man), the sound system has become an absolute cornerstone of the reggae, roots, and culture scene in the eastern region and beyond.
Rebel Lion Sound System are known for their heavy custom speaker stacks, community dance sessions, and collaborations with heavyweight selectors and vocalists.
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TICKETS here
Massive thanks to Arts Council England for their support of this event.