Heritage festival had it all – joy and tears.
ONCE again De’leulz International brought a weekend of fun, good music, dance and sport to Mthatha to celebrate Heritage Month.
The company, owned by local business woman Tando Sapepa-Nogaga, hosted a fun-filled weekend which drew crowds from far and wide.
The Heritage Festival is in its third year and shows no signs of losing steam.
On Friday the weekend started with a gala dinner attended by the who’s who of Mthatha and district.
Saturday kicked off with a marathon followed by aerobics at the tennis courts, a golf tournament, and a cultural festival.
The jazz festival started on Saturday afternoon with local artists showing off their talent. In the evening the stars took the stage.
Award winning gospel musician Sifiso Ncwane hit the boards and blessed the crowds with his popular sounds including Favour is my Name.
Ncwane seemed to have more fans in the general crowd, while the VIP section was a bit dull with only a few singing along.
Then it was time for king Tha’, the beautiful Cape Town-born songbird, Thandiswa Mazwai.
Rocking a wild hairstyle, she took to the stage and had the crowd eating out of her hand.
Her all-female band delivered a great set with only two guitars and drums – they could give U2 a run for their money.
She even hung out backstage waiting to dance to the next musician who was to take the stage.
He is arguably the most romantic man – Mr Lover Man Ring Madlingozi. From the time he got on stage to the moment he stepped down the stairs, the crowd was singing along to his songs, and women screaming from all sides of the marquee.
After Ringo, there was an awkward pause in the entertainment as the band of the legendary musician Caiphus Semenya did a sound check.
This drove the crowd to sing “singanibetha sithanda” (We will beat you up if we like).
The disappointment quickly vanished when Semenya stepped on stage. His performance was the highlight of the night as he had some in the crowd in tears with his classics from Angelina, Ziphinkomo and Matswale.
After his performance Semenya said he was pleased with the crowd.
“It’s my first time in Mthatha and I must say the crowd here was great,” he told the Daily Dispatch.
Mthatha-born rapper, iFani was the favourite among younger fans. He also brought on stage his protege, Sakhekile.
Sapepa-Nogaga said while the evening had been a success she hoped to improve next year.
“What this year’s event has taught me is that we need more capacity. It was massive and it has grown a lot.
“We had hiccups here and there but the show went well. The turnout was great and we are very excited about that. I am hoping that it will be bigger and better next year,” she said. — abongilem@dispatch.co.za
Top artists thrill crowd in Mthatha
ONCE again De’leulz International brought a weekend of fun, good music, dance and sport to Mthatha to celebrate Heritage Month.
The company, owned by local business woman Tando Sapepa-Nogaga, hosted a fun-filled weekend which drew crowds from far and wide.
The Heritage Festival is in its third year and shows no signs of losing steam.
On Friday the weekend started with a gala dinner attended by the who’s who of Mthatha and district.
Saturday kicked off with a marathon followed by aerobics at the tennis courts, a golf tournament, and a cultural festival.
The jazz festival started on Saturday afternoon with local artists showing off their talent. In the evening the stars took the stage.
Award winning gospel musician Sifiso Ncwane hit the boards and blessed the crowds with his popular sounds including Favour is my Name.
Ncwane seemed to have more fans in the general crowd, while the VIP section was a bit dull with only a few singing along.
Then it was time for king Tha’, the beautiful Cape Town-born songbird, Thandiswa Mazwai.
Rocking a wild hairstyle, she took to the stage and had the crowd eating out of her hand.
Her all-female band delivered a great set with only two guitars and drums – they could give U2 a run for their money.
She even hung out backstage waiting to dance to the next musician who was to take the stage.
He is arguably the most romantic man – Mr Lover Man Ring Madlingozi. From the time he got on stage to the moment he stepped down the stairs, the crowd was singing along to his songs, and women screaming from all sides of the marquee.
After Ringo, there was an awkward pause in the entertainment as the band of the legendary musician Caiphus Semenya did a sound check.
This drove the crowd to sing “singanibetha sithanda” (We will beat you up if we like).
The disappointment quickly vanished when Semenya stepped on stage. His performance was the highlight of the night as he had some in the crowd in tears with his classics from Angelina, Ziphinkomo and Matswale.
After his performance Semenya said he was pleased with the crowd.
“It’s my first time in Mthatha and I must say the crowd here was great,” he told the Daily Dispatch.
Mthatha-born rapper, iFani was the favourite among younger fans. He also brought on stage his protege, Sakhekile.
Sapepa-Nogaga said while the evening had been a success she hoped to improve next year.
“What this year’s event has taught me is that we need more capacity. It was massive and it has grown a lot.
“We had hiccups here and there but the show went well. The turnout was great and we are very excited about that. I am hoping that it will be bigger and better next year,” she said. — abongilem@dispatch.co.za
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