Alex music festival to relive the 1950s
ALEXANDRA - A traditional music fundraising festival will be held at the Sankopano Hall on 29 March.
A traditional music fundraising festival will be held at the Sankopano Hall on 29 March.
Known as Omama Besixaxa Sisonke Music, Dance and Craft Exhibition Fundraising Festival, will feature golden oldies in the form of izintombi ZesiManje Manje, Mahotella Queens of the fame of ‘Imbodlomane’ Simon Nkabinde better known then as Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens with their backing band, Makgona Tshotlhe Band, John Moriri and the more recent and popular Izingane Zoma which will relive the evergreen memories of the time of cherries and outies.
The festival will feature the world-acclaimed mbaqanga music and the evergreen maskandi traditional music that reverberates in the rolling hills of KwaZulu Natal every Christmas –and not forgetting the sounds of Mgqashiyo. So get ready to be blown away by the popular township music of South Africa from the ’50s to date.
The festival will be in full song in a benefit concert for the Omama Besixaxa Foundation and the Ntokozweni Youth Club, which was the epicentre of sport, culture, song and dance in the ’50s and produced many of the stars of legedery greats like Mahlathini and the Mahotella Queens themselves, the Dark City Sisters, Isibaya Esikhulu and some of the boxing legends such as Black Hawk Hlubi and many more.
Chairperson of Omama Besixaxa, Jane Dlamini Yusuf said the foundation was formed by the expertise of a group of women sharing a common arts interest. The foundation is a non-profit organisation.
With their self-reliance, optimism and enthusiasm, the foundation members hope to assist communities by presenting art forms that will create job opportunities.
“Our main purpose is to impart and share knowledge of indigenous art forms,” said Yusuf.
“We are very excited to bring our music to the people of Alexandra, as we are duty-bound to educate and impart our musical knowledge to the young ones of this land. We hope that, as the first concert of its kind, our endeavour of spreading a message of goodwill will grow and we can take this honourable concert to other cities, towns, villages and townships.”
The event starts at 10am and ends at 6pm.
Details: Otto Moloto 082 220 0332 or otto.moloto14@gmail.com
