Ne-Yo plays Cape Town on Saturday, Pretoria on Sunday as Cape Malay choirs fill Artscape

Ne-Yo brings his South African tour to Cape Town on Saturday and Pretoria on Sunday, the two biggest international dates on a weekend that also puts the Cape Malay Choir Board’s annual competition on the Artscape Opera House stage.

As Sunday World reported on 16 October in its national gig guide, the Grammy-winning singer performs at the Grand Arena at GrandWest in Cape Town on Saturday from 6pm, with tickets listed at R990 to R1,890 excluding booking fees, and at SunBet Arena in Pretoria on Sunday from 6pm. His catalogue includes So Sick, Miss Independent, Closer and Because of You, alongside songwriting credits on hits recorded by other artists.

For anyone deciding where to spend money this weekend, the spread is unusually wide. The Cape Malay Choir Board’s sectional competition runs Friday to Sunday at the Artscape Opera House, with tickets at R100 to R200. The programme covers traditional choral styles, solo songs and the repertoire associated with Cape Malay musical culture, and it remains one of the Western Cape’s largest annual gatherings of community choirs.

In Johannesburg, MAMMA MIA! continues at the Teatro at Montecasino in Fourways, with performances on Saturday at 3pm and 7.30pm and Sunday at 5pm. Tickets are through Ticketmaster South Africa. At the Pieter Toerien Theatre, also at Montecasino, Karen Zoid joins Ben Francis and Anton Eloff for ZOID SPAWN on Sunday at 3pm.

Durban gets two smaller rooms. Vuyo viwe brings her debut-album listening tour to Hue Café in Berea on Sunday at 3pm, with tickets at R110 through Quicket, performing material from there are mirrors everywhere, a set built on jazz, African musical traditions, folk and electronic textures with flute and vocals. On Friday at 3.30pm, the Courtyard Theatre at DUT’s Ritson Campus hosts Dubious Gurus, pairing Durban poet Iain “Ewok” Robinson with instrumentalists Logan Byrne, Daniel Sheldon and Anton Cawthorn-Blazeby as part of DUT Drama’s Backstage in Action festival.

Gqeberha has the comedy production Hey Hey Divorcé at The Savoy Theatre from Friday to Sunday, at R250 a person, and East London has the Kei Region Isililo Manyano Bomme gospel concert at the Orient Theatre on Saturday at noon.

Elsewhere, Vusi Nova’s Here to Stay national tour is listed for eMalahleni on Saturday, Afrikaans singer Appel performs at The Fire Restaurant and Venue in Kimberley on Saturday with tickets from R180, and the Dinosaur World Festival runs in Klerksdorp from Thursday to Sunday with life-size animatronic dinosaurs and family activities.

Two Cape Town options round out the weekend. The Shanti Wellness Festival at Riverside Estate in Hout Bay runs Saturday from 9am to 9pm and Sunday from 9am to 4.30pm, with tickets from R120, covering yoga, breathwork, Qi Gong, dance, DJs and live performances, and free entry for children under 12. The Norval Foundation in Tokai holds its Garden Day on Sunday from 10am to 4pm at R250, combining live performances, a DJ, family activities and access to the museum’s exhibitions.

Venues and organisers have not published uniform ticketing detail for every event. The Pretoria Ne-Yo show, the Dubious Gurus performance and the East London gospel concert all direct buyers to confirm prices or availability with the official platform or organiser, and the Vusi Nova listing for eMalahleni does not specify a venue or showtime. The Klerksdorp festival has a price still to be confirmed, and Hey Hey Divorcé’s individual performance times sit with the venue.

Schedules, prices and availability can change, and limited-capacity shows in particular are worth confirming with the venue or ticketing platform before travelling.