Music
Music lovers around the province and other areas attended the first Western music festival a fortnight ago at Ali & Adolf The Island Resort in Muraleni.
The festival was a huge success and, according to the organisers, it provided an excellent platform for local musicians to showcase their talent. Some of the artists that left music lovers crying for more included Dr Malinga, veteran musician Irene Mawela, Jah Lady, Makhadzi, DJ Lulo Cafe from Metro FM, Fizzy, Edith Masakona Mudau, Belafonte, Prifix, DJ Rabs Vhafuwi and Khakhathi & Friends, and many more.
The festival was attended by people from various communities in Limpopo. The organiser, Mr Ali Tshiluba, said that the festival was aimed at providing a development platform for the growing number of local artists who leave the region to go to Johannesburg to seek opportunities. “We see the event as contributing to social cohesion and nation building, while entrenching our African identity through musical performances,” he said. “Our main aim was not to make profit from the festival, but to market our province and show our talent.”
He added that only a “very little is going on regarding the promotion of Venda artists in South Africa. Some artists have already released more than three albums but have never performed to an audience bigger than 100 people,” he said.
He indicated that there were many good artists in the Vhembe District and it hurt to see things ending up in the street or being pirated without benefiting the artists who spent sleepless nights working on such projects.
He added that it was at occasions like the festival where the area also celebrated the uniqueness of its culture. He encouraged the public to attend a similar event during the Easter holidays. Tshifura thanked all the sponsors and all people who attended the first festival.