All roads lead to Zambezi Riverside Resort at Stone City, near Katima Mulilo, this weekend.
The area was named Stone City by locals for its fascinating natural rock formations rising along the water.
Multiple award-winning Zambian music star Yo Maps, real name Elton Mulenga (31), hits the stage live on Saturday.
The Afro-pop, Afro-soul, R&B, and Zambian rock star is currently riding on the crest of his hit single with Makhadzi, one of the biggest women players in the South African entertainment scene.
Titled ‘It’s Over’, the song is boasting over eight million views on YouTube so far.
Yo Maps’ other single, ‘Hello’, which dropped in April, has recorded over seven million views.
The event was slightly rocked after the Katima Mulilo Town Council denied the organisers access to the Katima Mulilo Waterfront because of the ongoing Zambezi Bream and Cultural Festival.
SHOW MUST GO ON
Show promoter Peter Chola says despite the council’s unwillingness to grant permission, the show will go on as planned.
“We’ve put in a lot of effort with the promotions and logistics of this massive concert, and right now postponement is not an option at all,” he says.
“We may be further out of town, but fortunately music fans are very loyal beings. They will even follow you to the moon if the artist is Yo Maps, one of the brightest stars from Zambia.”
A double-winner at the 2019 Ngoma Awards where he scooped both the musician of the year and the song of the year awards, Yo Maps is one of Zambia’s most revered artists.
Born at Kasama in Zambia, he was raised at Kabwe, where he also kick-started his musical journey.
Yo Maps dropped his first single, ‘Njikata Kuboko’, in 2016, but it was only in 2019 that he got his breakthrough signature song ‘Finally’ that also won him the song of the year award.
“Yo Maps is a renowned and award-winning singer, songwriter and music producer in the southern African region and throughout the African continent.
“His musical prowess also earned him best male artist, album of the year for ‘Komando’, and song of the year for his hit ‘Mr Romantic’ at the 2022 African Entertainment Awards,” Chola says.
With four studio albums behind his name and 20 singles and 30 music videos so far, Yo Maps is a continental giant.
In 2025, he walked away with the best male artist in southern Africa award during the All Africa Music Awards (Afrima) in Lagos, Nigeria.
While Yo Maps took home the men’s title, South African superstar Makhadzi annexed the women’s version of the award.
The star has released four albums so far: ‘Komando’ in 2021, ‘Try Again’ in 2023, ‘My Hero’ in 2024, and ‘Vibes on Vibes’ this year.
“It’s all systems go for one of Katima Mulilo’s biggest shows ever. Yo Maps is not going to do this alone because there will be local artists opening up for him.
“Our boys, like Kwaito Lager, one of the hottest acts in the Zambezi region, and Iku Oracle from the Chobe region in Botswana, are just two of several opening artists on the night,” Chola says.
Supporting acts include DJ Jittaz, Cler De DJ, MC Paul, Belle Markasoh, X Bravo, and Alpho.
The damage is N$200 for general tickets and N$250 at the gate, with N$400 for general VIP tickets and N$500 at the gate.
Tickets are available at Webtickets and Model Stores countrywide.
