Pretty Polly
Congo Cowboys
Watch on YouTube ↗Congo / Cape Town · Soukous · Bluegrass · Country
CONGO
COWBOYS
African Cowboy
Meet the Congo Cowboys
Country roads.
Congolese rhythms.
Bluegrass and country meet soukous guitar, kwassa kwassa rhythms and Lingala soul. An unmistakable sound, shaped in Cape Town and made for the stage.
Chris Bakalanga’s voice leads a four-piece whose banjo, guitar, bass and drums turn old-time songs into something vividly their own. Country and blues classics reappear with African rhythmic life; original songs belong to the same restless musical world.
There is warmth, grit and a generous sense of play here. Cowboy hats and African prints are part of the picture — but the real connection is in the groove.
Europe 2026 · A show that brings people together
They came.
The room moved.
From Swiss festival fields to Cornwall, from Karlsruhe and Hohwacht to the Opéra de Lyon: the Congo Cowboys’ 2026 European tour won audiences over with rhythm, character and sheer joy in playing.
The response was immediate. Reviewing their Karlsruhe performance, gig-blog described reimagined classics, inventive arrangements and a crowd dancing and singing along almost from the start.
That connection has been growing since their European festival appearances in 2023. The Cowboys arrive with a sound of their own — and know how to bring a room into it.
Europe 2026 · On the road
5 Continents Festival — MartignyRencontre & Racines — AudincourtNamass Pamouss — ManigodZeltival / Tollhaus — KarlsruheTropical Pressure — CornwallHohwachtAfro Latino — GenkSommerpalast — MurrhardtFestival du Péristyle — Opéra de Lyon
“Dancing and singing along almost from the start.”
Dan Dewes · gig-blog, Karlsruhe · July 2026 ↗
Translated from German
Listen & watch
Welcome to
African Cowboy.
Two songs from the band’s repertoire.
Old roots. A different rhythmic life.
East Virginia
Congo Cowboys
Watch on YouTube ↗Videos load from YouTube when you press play.
On the band’s sound
“A gorgeous mix of Congolese kwassa kwassa, deep country, and classic covers.”
Megan Furniss · The Weekend Special
Quoted in the band’s official biography ↗
Explore · The story & the people
How the Congo
found the country.
From the cowboy-styled youth of 1950s Kinshasa to Cape Town’s musical friendships and Apple TV+’s My Kind of Country: meet the people and the history behind the hats.
Explore the Congo Cowboys ↗The next chapter
More songs.
More roads ahead.
The band’s next record is in the works with producer JB Arthur. For current live plans and European or UK dates, speak to GRIOT.
Listen to the records ↗European & UK booking
Congo Cowboys · Four musicians
Contact GRIOT for dates, routing and production.