South Africans… get ready. Legendary Grammy award-winning isicathamiya group Ladysmith Black Mambazo will be touring South Africa this year.
Their South African Legacy Tour is about celebrating their journey in the music industry and thanking South Africans for the love and support they have shown over the years.
The group (which has existed for six decades) will start their tour on the 24th of May at the Joburg Theatre. This show is will be in celebration of Africa Month, as the 25th of May is Africa Day.
Group member Sibongiseni Shabalala shared that the group is celebrating Africa Month because of how deeply rooted their music is in African culture and heritage. “Our entire South African tour is about celebrating Africa’s and our own groups roots and origins.”
They Joburg Theatre show will end their Johannesburg run on the 28th of May. However, they will be visiting Durban, Cape Town and Pretoria too.
Described by President Nelson Mandela as South African ambassadors of culture and heritage worldwide, the five-time Grammy award-winning group will perform at Durban’s Playhouse from the 26th of September until the 1st of October 2023.
Next, Cape Town’s Artscape will host them from the 14th to the 19th of November. Then, they will be at Pretoria’s State Theatre from the 15th to 17th of December.
Ladysmith Black Mambazo spent most of their year performing abroad, which makes this tour a special occasion for their South African fans who have long supported them.
“South African audiences were the first to endorse the success of Ladysmith Black Mambazo. From humble beginnings, the group broke records by being the top-selling music group in South Africa in the late 70s and 80s,” says Sibongiseni, whose father, Joseph Shabalala, started the group in the 1960s. “The overwhelming support from South African audiences and neighbouring countries paved the way for Ladysmith Black Mambazo to showcase their music globally.”
Albert Mazibuko, who has been with the group since it began, says, “Performing at home is very special because the social issues of South Africa inspired the music of Ladysmith Black Mambazo during the dark days of Apartheid till now. Ladysmith Black Mambazo is a mirror of South African Society.”
He also says that the tour aims to reconnect with local audiences as well as celebrate the group’s legacy since it was established.
Albert adds, “The founder of the group, Professor Joseph Shabalala, was a story teller and he used music to share his life’s personal experience through music. Singing in front of South African audiences is like the completion of the lifecycle of the musical journey.”
During their tour, the group will also visit schools to motivate them and do a music masterclass with students. Four years ago, Ladysmith Black Mambazo had launched the Ladysmith Black Mambazo Mobile Academy which discovers and develops young aspiring groups who sing isicathamiya and indigenous music.
Tickets are between R130.00 and R350.00 on Webtickets.
