Music galore as evergreen 'village Pope' wows Gabs revellers

By Lekopanye Mooketsi
Correspondent | Monday November 29, 2010 00:00

Tshepo has not only made a name as an Afro jazz artiste but also as a gospel singer.  He proved this on Saturday.

The man who has been dubbed the 'Village Pope' marched on the stage with his trademark walking stick. 

Tshepo then started belting out gospel tunes much to the amusement of the audience. There was a good attendance at the show.

Tshepo acknowledged some Batswana legends like Bra Malombo Mmereki that he used to perform with when he was based in the country.

He also  wowed the crowd with his jazzy compositions including the tracks that he released with Sankomota.

Despite his age, Tshepo showed that he could still do a thing or two on stage.

Tshepo introduced local youngsters that he identified during a music workshop that he conducted on Friday.

He gave the youngsters an opportunity to showcase their talent.  The youngsters demonstrated that they have great potential. 

Tshepo also welcomed songbird Maxy Sedumedi to the stage. He spoke highly of Maxy's contribution to the development of local music.

He also introduced his son on the stage and the young man seems to be following in his father's footsteps. 

And then it was time for Winnie. Winnie proved why she is such a popular gospel star in South Africa. She played non-stop for close to three hours. There was never a dull moment when she was on the stage.

In fact some revellers felt that she should have given herself time to sing one of their favourite songs, Emmanuel. But at the end of the show, everyone went home happy and spiritually edified.   

However, what was disappointing about the Metropolitan festival was that it featured two foreign artistes and only one local.

The organisers of the show failed to explain why they came up with this arrangement.