Singer and activist Thandiswa Mazwai will be hosting 'King Tha Day' in Newtown, in honour of her birthday and to celebrate all women. The event will encompass poetry, music, talks and a market in a small venue, to be held on March 31.
Mazwai explains that 'King Tha Day' serves as a precursor for the Amandlawomxnfest, which is a weekend long festival with the same features as 'King Tha Day', that will be happening in August.
“I’m inviting my sisters to a women only gig on my birthday in celebration of their resilience and strength,” she says. “It is an attempt to strengthen the sisterhood and together imagine new worlds. We will come together in one space to celebrate our unique power.”
“We are strengthening the sisterhood at KING THA DAY, everyone on stage will be a womxn and all our vendors, the tech teams and venue staff will be womxn too,” says Mazwai.
“This is to help empower womxn in many of the fields connected to music, by giving them opportunities they wouldn’t normally have. This is a celebration of womxn, for us, by us. Where we cannot find a womxn to fill a certain position we commit to running internship programmes to one day fill those positions.”
The KING THA DAY programme will kick off at 4pm with a market, talks and poetry in the small venue. Speakers include author and Professor Pumla Dineo Gqola, lesbian activist and filmmaker Bev Ditsie and Mail & Guardian Arts Editor Milisuthando Bongela. Standard Bank Young Artist Award Winner for Jazz Thandi Ntuli and Ntsiki Mazwai will perform on the main stage before King Tha and the all-female band she established five years ago
Having been in the music scene for more than 20 years, Mazwai proves to be an indominable force, first as part of the kwaito innovators Jacknife, then with popular group Bongo Maffin, and now as a award-winning solo artist.
“I am looking forward to spending time with my sisters and celebrating my birthday with them and having a good time together,” says King Tha of the gig happening at the Newtown Music Factory on 10 Henry Nxumalo Street in Newtown.
Tickets are available for R250.