Lagos will host a week of music, fashion and cultural conversation. Felabration 2026 returns to the New Afrika Shrine from October 12 to 18. The festival takes its theme, Who Are You?, from Fela Anikulapo-Kuti’s 1971 album Fela’s London Scene. The question suits a celebration that keeps examining Nigerian identity and creative expression.
A festival beyond music
The programme opens with the Dress Fela fashion show on Saturday, October 10. The show puts Fela’s visual identity beside the music that made him a cultural force. His bold prints, loose trousers, beads and stage presence still influence African style. At Felabration, fashion is not an accessory. It forms part of the identity conversation.
Yeni Anikulapo-Kuti created Felabration in 1998. The festival now includes music, art, dance, fashion and school debates. These activities give audiences more ways to engage with Fela’s legacy. Yeni Kuti has said the festival attracts visitors from the African diaspora. She also said it gives Nigeria a chance to present its culture to international audiences. 
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A new answer to Fela’s question
Emee Freda gives this year’s theme a personal dimension. She first entered the New Afrika Shrine as an apprentice 12 years ago. She now returns as a singer, songwriter, composer and multi-instrumentalist. Freda previously worked as a backup singer and dancer for Femi Kuti. Her planned set includes her recent single, Story.
Her journey shows how artists can inherit a tradition and still build a distinct voice. She moved from learning at the Shrine to presenting her own work on its stage. That shift gives Who Are You? a practical meaning. It asks how young artists respond to the people and places that shaped Nigerian music.
A living legacy
The festival’s lineup also brings different generations and styles together. Musiliu Haruna Ishola, Terry Apala, Atawewe and Ice Prince are among the announced performers. The announcement also names Slimcase and Ceeza Milli, alongside other contemporary acts. The festival does not try to recreate Fela’s era. Instead, it puts apala, hip-hop, street music and newer sounds in conversation.
That approach keeps the festival from reducing Fela to slogans, costumes or a familiar stage name. His music and public image linked performance with cultural confidence and political consciousness. Felabration keeps that spirit relevant. It gives artists room to ask who they are, what they represent and what Nigerian creativity can become.
As the festival moves from today’s fashion show into its main week, Who Are You? becomes more than a theme. It invites artists, designers and audiences to consider their place in Nigerian culture. Fela’s legacy stays alive through change. Each generation finds a new answer.
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