A day of electrifying performances at the Hamptons
Ulla Setswalo | Monday March 30, 2015 18:00
The show kick-started in the morning, although the rain in the afternoon gave both the Hamptons promoters and the crowd a scare, everything went back to normal around 4:00 pm. The place was packed with both the young and old, people came in masses with their cooler boxes and camp chairs. There was a VIP lounge, which was full. The sound was superb, there were no glitches or power failures, and the acoustics were on point.
The line -up started with local musicians such as Kalahari Quintent, Metrophones, and Dikakapa who gave thrilling performances. People danced the night away to their favourite songs and they sang along to every song. An array of soul, jazz, afro-pop as well as local traditional music was performed on the night to cater for different tastes. Dikakapa who have been on tour in Tanzania took the stage and wowed the crowd especially the expats, as they were thrilled to see traditional music. They even gave out cassettes of their album as souvenirs to their fans. The talented Punah Gabasiane-Molale followed with her latest and old songs, she even performed two songs from her upcoming album. The song titled MmaBolaisane was was well received by the fans.
“ I am very honoured to have been part of the Hamptons festival as I can see the growth and the reception by the crowd was amazing,” Molale said.
She further said that she is excited about giving her fans an album in June.
Groove Cartel’s co-founder and renowned DJ German D, took to the decks after Molale’s performance.His mixes kept the crowd on the dance floor. Hellen Dikobe who is based in South Africa performed a few songs with her South African band. Dikobe expressed her excitement about her performance and the reception she got from the fans to Showtime. Legendary jazz musician Banjo Mosele also rocked the fans with his hit songs such as Ntsa E Jele Ntsanyana. Mosele said he would release a collection of his favourite songs in winter this year. Mango Groove also performed their hit songs such as The Lion Sleeps Tonight and Special Star. The afro-pop band’s founder and bass guitarist, John Leyden said that they had a great time in Botswana.
The band’s lead singer, Claire Johnston, said they have been performing for decades and they loved the Botswana crowd. The band fused marabi, pop and kwela music in their songs and they kept the crowd on their feet.
South African legend, Tsepo Tshola, also gave a thrilling performance with his big voice that always makes the crowd go wild. Mahotella Queens shook the stage with their dance moves and also sang a tribute song to the late former President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela. South African songbird Zonke took to the stage and sang beautifully. The fans were on a craze as they screamed, sang along and danced to the petite musician’s songs. The hit song, Feelings was the crowd’s favourite.
In an interview with Showtime, the beautiful Zonke revealed that,
“ I am very pleased by the reception I got from my fans and would like to work with local artists in Botswana,” she revealed to Showtime in an interview. She also said that she is releasing a single soon then an album in August, which will have 12 tracks. South African afro-fusion band, Stimela featuring the legendary Ray Phiri, closed the show with their amazing performances. The security was very tight and people behaved well.
Hampton’s Promoters were on point this time around and most jazz lovers said they cant wait for next year as they got their money’s worth. The VIP ticket holders were served with food and desserts prepared by professional chefs and various beverages such as Jameson, Kgalagadi Breweries Limited (KBL) beverages and wines by Benju. Fans also got to interact with artists at the VIP area.
There were food stalls all over the place as well as KBL stalls to cater for fans. Gabz FM radio station was live at the event, with Uncle Shima. A lot of high profile people were spotted as well as local artists.