The Groove Room Takes Cape Town by Storm
26 December @ 4:00 pm – 27 December @ 2:00 am
What started as a dedicated stage at ULTRA South Africa is stepping beyond the festival gates. On 26 December 2026, The Groove Room will take over Cabo Beach in Cape Town for its first standalone edition in the city, turning a festival concept into a full-scale celebration of African electronic music culture.
And the line-up makes it clear: this is not simply another December party.
Kelvin Momo, DJ Kent, DBN Gogo, DJ Lag and a highly anticipated MÖRDA B2B DJ Zinhle set headline the experience, joined by Thakzin, JNR SA, International Pantsula and NOT A SHE.
From Festival Stage to Its Own Culture
The interesting part of The Groove Room’s evolution isn’t just the move to a bigger independent platform. It is what happened around the music.
According to the organisers, audiences began arriving for more than individual performances. The dancers, fashion, chants, movement and shared energy created something that felt bigger than a stage within a festival.
That distinction matters in South Africa‘s increasingly influential electronic music scene.
Amapiano, Gqom, house and Afro House aren’t isolated sounds. They exist within communities, movements and spaces where audiences actively shape the experience. The Groove Room is positioning itself inside that intersection.
As Anything Goes CEO Shaun Duwe explains, the concept developed its own identity as artists and audiences came together.
Now, Cape Town gets to experience that identity without it sitting inside another festival.
A Line-Up Connecting Generations
The artist selection also tells a story about South African dance music.
Kelvin Momo brings the soulful, atmospheric side of Amapiano, while DJ Kent represents the enduring lineage of South African house. DBN Gogo connects with the generation that has helped take contemporary Amapiano into new spaces.
Then there is DJ Lag, whose Gqom sound carries the raw, unmistakable pulse of Durban’s electronic underground.
The MÖRDA B2B DJ Zinhle set could become one of the day’s defining moments, bringing together two major names from South Africa‘s dance music ecosystem behind the decks.
With Thakzin, JNR SA, International Pantsula and NOT A SHE also joining the programme, the line-up moves between established influence and newer creative directions.
Cabo Beach Becomes Part of the Experience
The Groove Room is also promising to treat production as more than decoration.
For its standalone Cape Town edition, the organisers say an ambitious technical production has been designed specifically around the experience, with sound, stage design and the physical environment working together.
That approach fits the bigger idea behind The Groove Room: the room itself is part of the culture.
From late afternoon at 16:00 through to 02:00, Cabo Beach will become a meeting point for different generations, sounds and communities connected by South Africa‘s dance floors.
On Saturday, 26 December 2026, The Groove Room steps into a new chapter — and Cape Town gets its own room.
Tickets and tables are available through Howler.
Purchase Ticket:
https://thegrooveroom.howler.co.za/events/the-groove-room-cape-town-26-december-2026-971d/ticketsRelated Events
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