The Sunday News
Ngqwele Dube, Life Correspondent
THE Africa Day in Njube concert is set to become an annual event following a successful inaugural event that was fully subscribed.
One of the organisers of the event, Bruce Ncube said the show revealed there is a starved audience in the high density suburbs as people came out in their numbers to watch the show.
Over 20 artistes performed on Africa Day at Salukazi Arts Centre to an appreciative audience estimated at around 300 people.
Performances kicked off at 3:30pm and rolled till midnight with different artistes drawing different reactions from the audience. There were no entrance fees for the concert that also had a jumping castle for children.
“All the artistes on the line-up performed and were at their best despite the fact there were no monetary rewards. For us the event achieved its purpose of bringing the young musicians closer to their audiences specifically in the high density areas where events of this magnitude rarely take place.
“We will start planning the next edition early and hopefully might be able to engage partners to ensure the musicians are remunerated,” said Ncube aka Bruno Ashley.
Iyasa had the crowd eating out of their hands as they showcased the acts that have won them awards and made the group a household name in the country’s arts scene.
The group came on stage when performances had been running for close to two hours and they enlivened the show with the fans jostling to get closer to the action and catch a glimpse of the much talked about dance act in town.
Young Tebza also had the crowd moving along to his house tunes, leaving many in the audience in awe of singing prowess and good stage presentation at such a tender age of eight. Others likened Tebza to South Africa’s Mzambiya and with the right management and grooming he can take the local music scene by storm.
Victory Siyanqoba, Mema and Umkhathi and Band with No Name also held their own, dishing out enthralling acts that had the audience singing along and glued to the stage.
Njube boy, Hwabaraty thrilled the audience with tunes from his debut album Woza Nhlanhla while Lady Tshawe’s soulful voice mesmerised the fans as she performed some renditions of popular songs from genres that include jazz, afro-pop and local music with Khuxxman also holding his own and showing his experience in the music industry with a well polished act.
MCs, comedian, Ntando Moyo and Philip Moyo aka Cde Phil handled their job well, ensuring acts came in on time while keeping the audience entertained with jokes in between the performances.
Other acts that performed on the day include Nobuntu, Kaisa, MJ Sings, Asher Banton, School Kid, Ashleigh, carlos, De Lukes, Khoi Khoi, Culture Seed, Ramsey K, Sungura Masters and Ezimnyama.
“A few days after the event walking around the neighbourhood in Njube a lot of people from the young to the old were asking when is the next event. That to me proves people are starved of entertainment in these areas hence the decision to make it a yearly event.
“A lot of people were suggesting it would be wise to pay even a dollar to watch these performances as most of them thought they were of high quality and this would help us pay the performers for the next event,” said Ncube.
@rasmthembo
