Sun El Musician, Bongeziwe Mabandla, Ms Party, and Aurus will join Nakhane on stage at the I Am Live concert by Bassline Fest at Constitution Hill on 21 May.
FILE: Ms Party will join Nakhane on stage at the I AM Live concert. Picture: Supplied.
JOHANNESBURG – “I’m just looking forward to playing again. I had taken some time off the stage to focus more on writing and being in the studio and this is my first proper show this year. I’m nervous about it, but I have really missed being on stage and doing what I love so much,” said Bongeziwe Mabandla to Eyewitness News.
Sun El Musician, Bongeziwe Mabandla, Ms Party, and Aurus will join Nakhane on stage at the I Am Live concert by Bassline Fest at Constitution Hill on 21 May.
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Mabandla grew up in Eastern Cape, and he shot onto the Afro-folk scene in 2012 with his debut album Umlilo.
“Yes, it’s crazy because it’s been 10 years since my first album came out. I think the best thing I have learned is going for your dreams no matter what anybody says. There is power in dreams,” said Mabandla to Eyewitness News.
The Bassline festival, I AM LIVE, is back after a forced hiatus of over two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is in celebration of Africa Month.
READ: More than anything, I miss the people: Nakhane comes home for I AM LIVE festival
An equally excited Ms Party said: “I look forward to the crowd. We’re only really starting to gather the way we are now, so it feels like a bit of a reunion. I look forward to the energy.”
Known as “Joburg’s Mainstay of Groove”, Ms Party will be there to ensure the flow of the festival stays fluid.
“I’ve learned about focus and patience. Being in the entertainment industry, we also have peers we start and move with at a particular time. Some [of their] stats rise higher and faster than yours and that can cause a lot of doubt in yourself. A lot of ‘why not me’ happens when working in the industry. However, I’ve learned to move at my pace and to focus on my path. That’s allowed me to be better as an artist and the length of time things take to develop also determines how long they last. I’ve seen it myself and that’s why I’m so patient in my journey,” said Ms Party about his career.
Ms Party is a South African DJ born in Diepkloof, Soweto, and has garnered popularity for his zeal on the decks, playing catchy tunes and every now and then leaving the dance floor to show off his dance moves and partying with the crowd.
“I have a TV show coming, which will soon be announced by the respective channel,” said the Ms Party.
I Am Live event promoter, Paige Holmes, said that the line-up of award-winning artists reflected the inclusivity, diversity, and tolerance that the city of Jozi inhabits.
“The festival is set to be a day of music and celebration of our humanity, resilience, and overall incredible creativity and talent that our beautiful African continent births. The line-up of award-winning artists reflects the inclusivity, diversity, and tolerance that the city of Jozi inhabits: Joining Nakhane when they return home to celebrate being live, alive and African will be Bongeziwe Mabandla, known as the ‘enigmatic spirit of African Soul’ and Sun El Musician, the multiple hit making Afro-house and electronic fusion producer, as well as Reunionese singer-songwriter Aurus,” said Holmes.
A seasoned feature overseas singer and songwriter, Bongeziwe Mabandla has over the past decade built a career that has seen him become known as the enigmatic spirit of African Soul, whose fanbase extends across the world.
For this award-winning artist, the impulse to create has propelled him to create a trio of critically acclaimed albums, perform on an array of homegrown and international stages, become a sought-after creative collaborator, and, in April 2022, joined the set of a film being shot in Kinshasa by musician and filmmaker, Baloji.
“Yes, I’m working on a new album but also been doing a lot of new other things, like the film I’m shooting in DRC directed by Baloji, been working on creating some art as in drawings and painting and just generally experimenting with new ideas and art mediums,” he said.
Brad Holmes of Bassline Live said that he was excited at the diverse crowd of quality music lovers that was sure to attend the Constitution Hill concert.
“The Bassline Fest is grateful to the Department of Sport Arts & Culture for coming on board in the support of the live music industry which has been so hard hit by the pandemic,” said Bassline Festivals’s Brad Holmes.
“In celebration of Africa Month, we are excited to showcase these incredible, diverse artists from our continent. What this event does is aid the live music industry as a whole as it creates work for the full live music industry eco-system from production, marketing, performing service providers, and artists. It also creates a place for festival-goers to escape while getting entranced by the artistic talent and of course to have some much-needed fun! We are also grateful to our associate partners Castle Lite and BETAfrica for making this concert possible. And to Concerts SA with the Norwegian Government & SAMRO for supporting Nakhane.”
The London-based South African award-winning artist Nakhane (pronouns: They/Them) is coming home and will be joined on stage by Sun El Musician, Bongeziwe Mabandla, Ms Party, and Aurus at the I Am Live concert by Bassline Fest at Constitution Hill on 21 May.
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