Jonathan Butler returns to Botswana
Sharon Mathala | Sunday January 22, 2023 06:00
The event, which also features another South African heavyweight, Lloyiso and locals Sereetsi and the Natives and Khoisan, is organised by local Communications and PR agency, Leapfrog.
Leapfrog has experience in event management and it also owns the Gaborone International Music & Culture Week (GIMC), an annual multi disciplinary event, which is held every first week of September in Gaborone.
Speaking to Arts & Culture, the event organiser Thapelo ‘Fish’ Pabalinga said they decided to do the Afro jazz event as their first session for the year because they feel there is a shortage of live events in the country. “It is not often where you get to an event and people are playing live instruments.
It is always backtrack and so we found it fit to have a high quality event that is really targeting the middle to high income earners who do not necessarily subscribe to our normal festival type of set up,” Pabalinga explained.
Speaking on the event itself, Pabalinga stated that they always try and better everything they do as the years go by. "One of the things that we always try to do is bring variety. If you look at what we do with the main event (GIMC), which happens for nine days, is that we cater for everyone and cover all genres. We always try and do things the exciting way.
Jonathan Butler is a big artist based in the US and Sereetsi and the Natives who both appeal to the old school but we also fused them with Llyoiso and Khoisan who bring the new school touch.
We felt it was a good mix of the old and new school,” said Pabalinga. The event, according to Pabalinga, will not be an "all nighter" as the first artist is expected to jump on stage at 7pm and the performances will be completed by midnight.
“Don’t think of this event as a music festival, it is a concert so to speak. It is really a jazz event, a sit down event where our patrons will enjoy the craft and the melodies being produced live on stage,” He said.