Cabonde Bay Music Festival

Cabonde Bay Music Festival is an annual music competition held in Cabonde Bay, Ganji Islands. It has been held annually since 1969.

Format

The festival has had 20 participants every year except in 1984, 1986, 2007, 2008 and 2020 when they had 22 to 24 participants. The songs are usually made by professional composers.

Old format (1969-2019)

The festival consisted of 5 Nights, the First Night was usually on the first or the second Saturday of April. The First Night was the original performance of the song. The Second and Third Nights were both original performances, but only 10 songs performed in both. The Fourth Night was a cross-performance night, where the participants performed their own version of another song taking part. The Fifth Night was the Final Night, where the participants performed their song one last time. The jury voted for their favourites, and the jury ranking would be released after the interval acts had performed. The top 3 of the jury went to the Superfinal, where the public decided their favourite through the televote. The song with the most votes won the festival.

Revamped format (2020-)

The festival consists of six Nights. The Nights are on Fridays and Saturdays. The First Night is on the first or the second Friday of April. On the First and Second Night, every artist will perform their song, 12 on both Nights. After they have performed, a ranking made by 100 music experts will be revealed. On the Third Night, the artists will perform a song that is a part of Cabonde Bay Music Festival history. The participants themselves will vote (60%) and their votes will be mixed with the televotes (40%) and the full ranking will be revealed after the interval acts. The Fourth Night is a cross-performance night, where the artists perform their version of another song taking part. The orchestra will vote and the ranking will be revealed after the interval acts are over. On the Fifth Night, the artists will perform their songs before the points from the previous Nights will be put together and the full ranking will be revealed. On the Sixth Night, (also known as the Final Night) the artists will perform their songs for one last time before the votes of the Music Experts (32%), the Press (35%), and the Public (33%) will be put together for a final ranking. After the ranking and the three Superfinalists have been revealed, the public has 30 minutes to vote during the interval acts before the winner is revealed.

2010s

Cabonde Bay Music Festival 2018
Cabonde Bay Music Festival 2019

2020s

Cabonde Bay Music Festival 2020

Winners

Big Artists section

1970s

Year	Artist	Song (Translation)	Songwriter(s)	Televote %
1969	Marina Jackson	"Zew Caje" (Second Time)	Nuwiembe Deron	43 %
1970	Dje Mawaki (The Monkeys)	"Ferro Portemo Sao" (Birds Be Flyin')	Michel Nwendine Dennis Michaelson	28 %
1971	Ilias Gwean	"Caco" (Hope)	Nuwiembe Deron	64 %
1972	Mathis Mathis	"Merae Ni Ne" (They Are Dancing)	Cairo De Maino	44 %
1973	Ilias Gwean	"Dunea" (Dunes)	Nuwiembe Deron Ilias Gwean	68 %
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979

2010s

Winner				2nd place			3rd place
Year	Artist	Song (Translation)	Televote %	Artist	Song (Translation)	Televote %	Artist	Song (Translation)	Televote %
2010	Ilias Gwean	"Yezvalin" (Yezvalin) Songwriters: Ilias Gwean, Elias Awabu, Adama Seniwaki	60 %
2011	Ilias Gwean & Nora Seniwaki	"Dje Bajladi" (The Ballad) Songwriters: Ilias Gwean, Nora Seniwaki, Adama Seniwaki	56,9 %
2012	Jordan Asa	"Nëz Zao Do Idane" (Not Gonna Do It) Songwriters: Jordan Asa, Yohan Asa	62,1 %
2013	F3	"Everech" (Everech Camp) Songwriters: Reynold Garris	74,2 %
2014	Sara	"Zao a Me" (Going For It) Songwriters: Fredrick Cafar	57,8 %	Ilias Gwean	"Nedesculpa" (Unforgivable) Songwriters: Ilias Gwean, Adama Seniwaki	27,1 %	Margaret Wilson	"Nwiza Deres" (No problem) Songwriters: Margaret Wilson, Martin Szedd, Thomas Faracci	15,1 %
2015	James Vencero	"Cevbukis" Songwriters: Jameson Vencawaki	55,3 %	F3	"Kewu" (Victim) Songwriters: Oliver Almeíra, Nubade Szach, Yohan Asa	40,5 %	Margaret Wilson	"Sabé a Aneke" (Stolen rose) Songwriters: Margaret Wilson, Martin Szedd	4,2 %
2016	Marathon	"Ne Jaci" (Not us) Songwriters: Zigman Dwaanwaki, Gerard Venhzi	56,3 %	Qasim Originále	"Archa" (Town) Songwriters: Qasim Faraid	34,1 %	The Case	"Rwean Sabe" (Starting point) Songwriters: Somo Ebas	9,6 %
2017	Kalawi Mecher	"Vendoe Riveos" (Mountain Rivers) Songwriters: Kalawi Mecher	41,6 %	QBU	"Imagina Isto" (Imagine this) Songwriters: Rada Kasowaki, Jean Almeira, Zigman Dwaanwaki	37,9 %	Benye	"Masza av Etre Lén" (Trying to be better) Songwriters: Ben Imczik, Thomas Faracci	20,5 %
2018	Naje	"Maverico" (Maverick) Songwriters: Naje Vecun, Damano Rebiwaki	57,2 %	Zayn Isame	"Pirâmides" (Pyramids) Songwriters: Dass Rachan, Moraj Mehzi	26,8 %	Margaret Wilson	"Grito" (Scream) Songwriters: Margaret Wilson, Martin Szedd	16 %
2019	TuRaj	"Vaszens ketti" (Everything golden) Songwriters: Tuakwa Nesza, Rajat Cenewaki	70,6 %	Mwathi-Hawikni Dzoiszeri	"Xafa'lme" (Like a slave) Songwriters: Mwathi-Hawikni Dzoiszeri	21,1 %	West-Marley 62	"Me deixe em paz" (Leave me alone) Songwriters: Carillo Faza, Jan Santos	8,3 %

2020s

Winner				2nd place			3rd place
Year	Artist	Song (Translation)	Televote %	Artist	Song (Translation)	Televote %	Artist	Song (Translation)	Televote %
2020