Oneal’s Orchestral showcase a shift in local entertainment
Lucy Kgweetsi | Wednesday July 30, 2025 06:11
The event, scheduled for November 28 at the GICC, was introduced last Thursday at News Café Gaborone in a private preview.
The session was attended by corporate stakeholders, media figures, and cultural influencers.
Its launch featured a curated performance by OnealAfrica, a Botswana born R&B DJ and South African percussionist Bongani Sessionist.
The evening also marked the relaunch of News Café as a premium venue, with guests treated to a blend of live orchestral music, cocktails, and what organisers called “elevated hospitality”.
Event co-creator, Phenyo Motlhagodi used the evening to frame the showcase not simply as a concert, but as a strategic offering for Botswana’s wider tourism and events economy.
“This event marks a bold shift in how we think about entertainment and experience in Botswana,” he said.
“Oneal Africa is a great example of how Batswana in the Diaspora can return home and contribute to nation-building, brand positioning, and experience creation.”
Motlhagodi drew attention to existing cross-border appeal for similar concepts, noting that Oneal’s other venture, Wine and Soul, has already begun to attract South African audiences.
“We are demonstrating what Botswana’s nightlife economy can become not just for locals, but for the urban tourist seeking high-end moments,” he added.
Set to feature a full orchestra from South Africa, the November performance will fuse R&B with orchestral arrangements, a format rarely explored on the local stage.
While details around additional acts remain under wraps, organisers have said the event will emphasise live performance quality and music curation over commercial scale.
Motlhagodi also highlighted the event’s alignment with Botswana’s national development strategies, particularly those focused on the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events (MICE) sector.
“This is not just entertainment, it's tourism, investment attraction, and national storytelling.
“We welcome corporate partners to come on board as we prepare for the big night in November,” he told attendees.
The tone of the launch was as much about future possibilities as about the night itself.
With Botswana often regarded as a stopover destination for regional travel, the organisers are positioning the showcase as part of a broader conversation about experiential tourism and creative sector investment.
The Oneal R&B Orchestral Showcase, if successfully delivered, could challenge traditional ideas about what live music can look and sound like in Botswana not just for those on stage, but for the ecosystem that supports them.