Will Jameson

  • Will  Jameson
Director of the festival
Principal country concerned : Column : Music, Dance, Arts and crafts
Malawi

Will Jameson is the founder of  Lake of Stars Music Festival. The event was founded by Will Jameson, and was born of his desire to raise money for a developing economy whilst helping to promote Malawi as a tourist destination and expose Malawian artists to international crowds.


Founder and Director of Lake of Stars Will Jameson first visited Malawi in 1998 when he worked in Dwangwa as a volunteer with the Wildlife Society for six months. During that time he traveled to Zimbabwe, Zambia and Mozambique. On returning to England, Will took with him a souvenir – an empty carton of 'Chibuku Shake Shake' beer. Halfway through university at Liverpool John Moores, he decided to start a club night with friends Damo Jones, Charlene McDaid and Rich McGinnis (Manchester Warehouse Project, MAMA Group). They named the night after the Malawian beer and went on to win Best UK Club in the Mixmag Awards in 2004.



In the same year, Will launched the first Lake of Stars festival, headlined by Chibuku regular, Groove Armada's Andy Cato. The festival attracted dozens of people from the UK and hundreds attended from all over Malawi and southern Africa. It won the Malawi Tourism Award in its first year and is now recognised on the global festival calendar. Will was named as one of the Observer and Courvoisier Future 500 for his pioneering work with the festival and for successfully linking the arts and travel industries of Malawi.

Partners

  • Arterial network
  • Media, Sports and Entertainment Group (MSE)
  • Gens de la Caraïbe
  • Groupe 30 Afrique
  • Alliance Française VANUATU
  • PACIFIC ARTS ALLIANCE
  • FURTHER ARTS
  • Zimbabwe : Culture Fund Of Zimbabwe Trust
  • RDC : Groupe TACCEMS
  • Rwanda : Positive Production
  • Togo : Kadam Kadam
  • Niger : ONG Culture Art Humanité
  • Collectif 2004 Images
  • Africultures Burkina-Faso
  • Bénincultures / Editions Plurielles
  • Africiné
  • Afrilivres

With the support of