Makhadzi late performance dampens show
Mompati Tlhankane | Tuesday March 29, 2022 06:00
Forget about adult revellers, they are mostly used to late performances anyway but for children it was all tears as they had to go home and eventually to bed without seeing their favourite artiste on stage. Some parents had brought their children to the festival as early as 1PM just in time for Makhadzi’s first set scheduled for 4pm. Vee Mampeezy warmed up the stage as people hoped to see Makhadzi jump onto the stage especially that the two musicians have a couple of collaborations. But Makhadzi was nowhere to be found and the long wait for the Murahu hitmaker forced some parents out of the venue without a single glimpse of Makhadzi. Others had to brave the cold and enjoy the festivities of the night with their sleepy children on their laps.
Speaking of festivities, the stage was lukewarm all night until Mingo Touch tried his thing around 10pm. Cassper Nyovest, who was on the line-up and scheduled to perform at 8pm, was not present. “Made it back to Jhb, headed to Welkom then Clarens. To the Promoters and fans I disappointed yesterday, I would like to apologise for not being able to show up due to flights. Hade,” read the Doc Shebeleza hitmaker’s apology statement of Facebook. The former kid-sensation Mingo Touch performed some of his yesteryear hits like Tshaba tsotsi. Around midnight most of the artistes from Open Mic started showing up and Master KG immediately hit the ground running. With Botswana’s DJ Ngwazi on his side, Master KG showed the crowd why he had been touring Europe and the world since the world fell in love with his song Jerusalema in 2020. Master KG also performed some of his hits like Limpopo, Skeleton move and Dali nguwe.
Master KG reminded his local fans where he comes from by performing some of his earlier hits like Tshwarelela pelo yaka. The artist, who doubles as a DJ/Music, producer and vocalist, left the stage and another Open Mic artiste Zanda Zakuza picked up where he left off. Zanda Zakuza also did not disappoint. Prince Benza, who has a hit titled Ngwago featuring Makhadzi, was next on the line-up and still revellers hoped Makhadzi would chip in somewhere. Charma Gal also performed on the night as well as Han C and Khoisan. Makhadzi did finally arrive just after 3am on Sunday morning, almost 12 hours after her not to be first performance.
With a crown on her head, Makhadzi was as energetic as usual and the crowd, which had waited all night for the moment, came to life. But some who were sitting on the stands failed to move but their eyes were still fixed on Makhadzi. The latter performed a two-hour set as promised and she really delivered even though some of her fans were too tired to dance.
From Matorokisi to Ma Yellowbone, Makhadzi pretty much performed all her known hits. After the conclusion of her set, Makhadzi’s fans started leaving and they surely had their fun. Perhaps what Makhadzi and company failed to understand is the main concept of the solo shows. The show really looked like a normal festival with Makhadzi as the headliner. Her late performance and the failure to do two sets as promised leaves something to think about for other artists who want to do solo shows in the future. But take nothing from her, Makhadzi is such a great artiste and is a crowd puller. The Royal Aria stadium was almost filled to capacity with a lot of revellers filling part of the stands and the field. And hey, Dalom Kids did perform as well and they were excellent.