THIS Easter weekend, you can expect some top-notch entertainment when celebrating what the sunny shores of Durban have to offer.
Brought to you by Solesa Productions is the one-of-a-kind Autumn Music Concert which will showcase national and international stars over the Easter weekend. Going down at the Durban International Conventional Centre (ICC) on April 19, the concert will afford people the opportunity to indulge, interact and celebrate Durban’s diversity and cultural heritage.
The line-up will feature The Parlotones, Lira, The Arrows, Afro Soul, Mafikizolo, Idols season 9 winner Musa and DJ Siyanda.
Tonight chatted to the organiser of the event to learn what can be expected. According to Edwin Khumalo of Solesa Productions, the event is a celebration of 20 years of South African democracy: “We feel we need to have that cultural diversity we always boast about. I believe our diversity is celebrated at all times and that is what makes KZN, and particularly Durban, unique. I hate to see an event that is targeted at whites or blacks. I want something that is all encompassing and something that says ‘wow, I love to be in Durban and I love to be a Durbanite’.
“Also, when you look at the way things are happening in Durban, this city is the destination for tourists. But it is very embarrassing that you don’t find anything major happening during the Easter period in Durban. So it is my duty as an event co-ordinator to come up with an event so that when visitors come to our city, they will find something happening. I wanted it to be the Autumn Concert because its during the Easter period.”
The Autumn Music Festival first graced our stages in 2011, being a soldout event and huge success. However, Khumalo says it lacked the diversity they were hoping to achieve. This time around, that is the focus of this project.
He reveals: “In 2011, it attracted mainly black people. It’s different from other shows because it encompasses cultural diversity. That’s the main element and we want to keep it that way. Hence the line-up will appeal to all racial groups. It will create the harmony we always talk about.”
So will audiences be blown away by this event?
“Definitely. And we hope it attracts people from the rest of the country. People who are visiting Durban will want to check out the attractions so at least we will have something entertaining happening. We plan to host it annually. And we’ve pleaded with the KZN government to give us a three-year contract in this regard so that we’ll build up the momentum. And from next year, we want people to decide on the line-up. But moving forward, we want to see people taking ownership so that this event will be sold out every year and be a success.
“It’s also going to be a very informative night. It will cover the issue of rhino poaching as well. We will have a slideshow just to create awareness about this because we need to preserve our conservation. So its going to be a night to remember and we intend to continue to put together shows of this magnitude.”
• The Autumn Music Concert will take place on April 19 at Durban ICC. Book through Computicket.