The gathered subjects for the photo shoot in The Star’s photographic studio were impressive – the king of South African music, the princes of rock music and the ruling gods of dance music.
In the middle, sitting on a stool with his trumpet, was Hugh Masekela. On either side of him were Micasa’s Mo-T and Dr Duda. Behind were Micasa’s J-Something, and Craig and Shane Durrant of rock band Desmond and the Tutus.
The reason for such music royalty was the impending Hugh Masekela Heritage Festival taking place at the Soweto Cricket Oval this Saturday. Booked to play is the man himself, as well as Desmond and the Tutus, Micasa, Phuzekhemisi, Thandiswa Mazwai, Jeremy Loops and Khaya Mahlangu.
Masekela explained the concept behind the one-day festival.
“When I left this country I left from the townships. When I came back 30 years later we played the towns and the people came from the townships to see me.
“For years I tried to find sponsorship to tour the townships. Then Assupol came on board because their clientele is minimum wage people.
“If all goes well we will take the shows to other townships and I am hoping to prioritise local popular groups in each region,” he said.
“For this event I thought it would be great to cover all the major genres, except maybe spiritual.”
Both Micasa and the Tutus are excited to perform the gig. Micasa’s trumpeter is obviously excited about being on the same bill as one of his heroes. Aside from the obvious reasons, he had this to say about the great man: “What Bra Hugh has fought for in the music world, here, in Africa and in the world is amazing. I have also never heard of Bra Hugh taking a rest. It shows there is a worldwide demand for him.”
J-Something said he was particularly excited on his friend’s and band member’s behalf: “When I hear the name Bra Hugh I think of Mo and what he means to him. I think its cool to be sharing the stage with the leader in terms of what Mo does and loves.”
The group say they have taken cognisance of the fact that it is heritage month. “We have taken a different message on stage this month,” explained J-Something. “Where we come from, where we are now and how beautiful we are.”
Added Mo-T: “Plus there is the colour of our band. We are very proud of that.
“Add that to the fact that we attract all colours in our audience, from Indians to coloured, everyone.”
Masekela says he is impressed with Micasa: “I enjoy Micasa so much. They just have a very joyous thing that they do.”
Masekela was hands-on with choosing the artists to perform at the Heritage Festival and had nothing but praise for the artists, including Phuzekhemisi.
This maskandi artist recently rocked Arts Alive Jazz by the Lake with a rock star performance by himself and his troupe of Zulu dancers. It was a memorable and powerful performance and he is sure to do the same in Soweto.
Masekela agreed: “He is one of my favourites. Phuzekhemisi’s songs are about social consciousness. He was sidelined for a while by the establishment because his songs are too truthful.”
Then there is the young songstress Putuma whom Masekela has taken under his wing. She often performs with him. “Putuma has her own style,” smiled Maskela. “She has confidence and her own sound and I will be producing her next album. I am also a big fan of Thandiswa.”
The Tutus’ Durrant brothers said they were looking forward to playing Soweto for a second time. They first played three years ago, but said that the crowd was a little younger and more alternative.
“We were apprehensive initially,” said lead singer Shane, “but the kids got into it. A lot of our music is quite funky and they just embraced the whole vibe of the band.”
Added drummer Craig: “We have a version of our set which is not as rocking and, although our sound is quite punk, we do have derivative guitar influences of maskandi.” This fits in with Masekela’s vision of the festival which is “to ensure that all communities are able to celebrate our differences together”.
• A children’s area will be available throughout the day. There will be food stalls and a bar . Gates at the Soweto Cricket Oval (the Elkah Stadium) open at noon and the first act is on at 2pm. Children under 10 enter free. Tickets are R100 at Computicket or Shoprite Checkers and R150 on the day.