The highly acclaimed Singer/Songwriter cum Activist Simphiwe Dana is set to peg a milestone in her upcoming performance at the 2018 Cape Town International Jazz Festival ‘s closing night by bringing an all-womxn band which will feature the rearrangement of Struggle songs in memory of Oliver Tambo and Nelson Mandela – whose centenary is being commemorated this year. In an interview on South African radio station Power 89.7 she said,
“I am making history as one of the first women to be given the task to do a special project to celebrate the 100 years of Madiba and Tambo and all our other Struggle stalwarts. All of those songs that remind us of everything that we’ve been through to get to where we are today and perhaps what we have failed to do to get us to where we should be”.
Simphiwe Dana, who says that her music is mostly influenced by what is going on in people’s daily lives is bent on reversing African self hate.
“I am a very cultured person….as an African person we were made to feel inferior and a lot of African people stopped practising their culture because it was seen as witchcraft or uncivilized. My music is inspired by African people and the love they have for song”
This wouldn’t be Simphiwe Dana’s first grand Symphonic performance, in 2016 she sold out the Live Symphony Experience the first of its kind, both in South Africa and on the continent which featured Nigerian Singer/Song writer ASA and Vocalist Concha Buika from Equitorial Guinea to massive acclaim.
The Cape Town International Jazz Festival (CTIJF) is affectionately referred to as “Africa’s Grandest Gathering” and is the largest music event in sub-Saharan Africa. The festival is famous for its star-studded line up of local and international artists. This year is its 19th annual event which will be hosted from the 23 – 24 of March 2018.
