Elaine has just reunited with Major League DJz for her latest single, ‘One More Dance’, and the Parklive crowd will be among the first to experience the track live. On Sunday, August 30, the SAMA-winning singer will make her Parklive debut at Marks Park, joining a wide-ranging line-up that includes Nasty C, Good Neighbours, Teeks, Matthew Mole and Rowlene - click here to see the full line-up.

The performance arrives at a fitting moment for the Pretoria-born artist. In between rehearsals, Elaine spoke to Time Out about navigating fame in the digital age, the natural spaces that inspire her songwriting and the trailblazing South African women who made her career possible.   

Who is on Elanie’s playlist?

Her pre-performance musical ritual is a high-powered listening session featuring the late Lebo Mathosa, Beyoncé, Solange Knowles and Canadian rapper Drake.  

These artists, she says, provide the spark she needs to connect with an audience – a part of live music she considers incomparable.   

For Elaine, however, being a musician in 2026 involves far more than rehearsing, recording and taking to the stage. Artists are now expected to be performers, brands and content creators all at once.

“There’s so much responsibility on the artist to have a personality and a content plan while also being a brand. But digitisation also gives our music the opportunity to travel faster and further. You can literally blow up from posting a video from your house in South Africa, and people in America can see it in real time," explains Elaine.

Rather than resist that reality, Elaine sees the digital landscape as a powerful way for South African artists to reach audiences beyond the country’s borders.

"I love it. We have so many tools and resources, and if we use them the right way, they can have so many positive outcomes for artists."

Read more: The ultimate guide to Parklive Jozi 2026

Where Elaine finds inspiration?

While digital platforms have accelerated her career, Elaine’s creative process is rooted in nature.

The singer describes outdoor spaces as both a source of inspiration and a form of wellness. Much of her unreleased music, she reveals, was written while she was surrounded by nature, making Marks Park an especially fitting setting for her first Parklive appearance.

‘This is my first Parklive performance, and I’m very excited to be performing in nature,’ she says. ‘I’ve never performed at a venue like this before, and I’m really looking forward to the new experience.’

But Parklive is unlikely to be an entirely serene affair. With ‘One More Dance’ now available across streaming platforms – and its video already live on YouTube – Elaine is preparing to bring the track’s dancefloor energy to the festival lawn. 

Honouring the women who opened doors

Parklive takes place at the close of Women’s Month, giving Elaine an opportunity to reflect on the women who laid the foundations for South Africa’s contemporary music scene.  

She names Mathosa, Brenda Fassie, Mama Afrika: Miriam Makeba, Letta Mbulu and KB Motsilenyane among the artists who shaped her musical outlook and expanded what she believes is possible for the women who followed them.   

Elaine leaned into Makeba, who won Africa’s first Grammy Award in 1966.  

"She really pushed down those doors and broke those boundaries for us," she adds.

"So many people paid such a hectic price for us to be able to do what we do at the level that we do it today. There are so many who paved the way, but I feel that the women I mentioned were the real MVPs."

Now Elaine takes her own place in that lineage, as she carries South African R&B onto a Parklive stage where the trees, the crowd and one more dance await.  

Parklive Essential Details

• When: Sunday, August 30; gates open at 11am

• Where: Marks Park, Orange Road, Emmarentia, Randburg

• Tickets: R395 for children, R595–R695 general admission and R1,295 for VIP tickets via Howler

Also read: Why every artist on the Parklive 2026 line-up is worth seeing  

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