Local R&B star Yvan Buravan is gearing up for the biggest musical tour of his career to date.

The ‘Garagaza’ hitmaker will hold live performances in 12 Francophone African countries on his first continental musical tour, starting on February 20, in the Malian capital, Bamako.

Dubbed, Tournee Africaine (African Tour), the project is part of the package the singer received for winning the 2018 edition of the prestigious Prix Decouvertes RFI music prize in November last year.

It was the first time for a Rwandan musician to win the award, which was in its 38th edition. Previously, Rwanda had participated in the contest twice; in 2013, when Afro singer Mani Martin represented the country and 2016 (The Ben, and Angel Mutoni).

To win the accolade, Buravan had to out-compete over 1,500 artistes from the African continent that took part in the contest.

After performing in Mali on February 20, Buravan will perform in Cotonou, the capital of Benin on February 22, Togo on February 23, and Chad on February 27.

In March, he will kick off his performances in Niamey, the capital of Niger on March 2, Congo Brazaville on March 6, and Equatorial Guinea on March 9.

On March 12, he will perform in Djibouti, while on March 15, he will be in the Madagascan capital, Antananarivo.

On March 20 he will perform in Libreville, the capital of Gabon, and Sao Tome on March 22.

He will wind up the tour on March 23 in Luanda, the capital of Angola. 

In an interview with The New Times, the singer revealed that he will be touring with his backup band and manager. He will also be travelling with a team dedicated to production of all the shows.

After the African tour, Buravan will hold a grand show in Paris, after which he will pick his Prix Decouvertes RFI music prize.

Shortly after the win last year, the singer staged a successful launch concert for his maiden album, The Love Lab, at Camp Kigali in December 1.

"This (tour) is a very good experience that I would really wish for any artiste to have. It will open my mind and my eyes to the West African market to see how things are done there,” he explained.

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