Sounds of isicathamiya to rock Soweto Theatre
31 August 2015
The explosive sounds of isicathamiya are expected to lift the roof of the Soweto Theatre when bands such as Ingoma Group, Umzantsi and Ushemen perform at the Jozi FM Maskandi Festival on Friday 4 September.
The music – amid the searing pleas of the guitar, the thumping beat of the percussions and the rhythmic dance moves of the musicians – will take patrons to a time when boys, who never ran out of adjectives to describe beauty, used flowery language to woo girls. Who knows, with love in the air, wedding invitations might start popping ekasi this festive season.
The festival forms part of the City of Johannesburg’s 2015 Arts Alive International Festival in partnership with Jozi FM and Soweto TV to welcome spring and celebrate the city’s rich diversity during Heritage Month. “The 2015 Arts Alive International Festival will be more vibrant as the City aims to excite all the five senses of our residents through music, poetry, visual art, dance and food. The City will also be using our theatres in the various regions as platforms to celebrate new life as spring kicks off and to also partake in our rich and colourful heritage,” says Member of the Mayoral Committee for Community Development Councillor Chris Vondo.
Proceedings at the Maskandi Festival start at 10am and will run until 5pm. Entrance is free. Members of the Soweto Arts and Craft Fair will set up displays of traditional food stalls to tantalise and tease the patrons’ taste buds as the music wafts inside. Patrons are urged to come hungry but loaded. The festival also marks Jozi FM’s 20-year anniversary.
“Residents of Soweto grew up listening to the beautiful sounds of maskandi. Through the festival, we are taking our listeners back to a golden era in which music was the language of love. This is the station’s thank-you present to our listeners for their massive support throughout the two decades of our existence,” says Bonginkosi Sithole, Jozi FM’s Business Development Manager.
The 2015 Arts Alive International Festival will feature a range of exciting overseas and local artists, transforming the city into Africa’s entertainment capital.