Johwa relishes his time at the Grahamstown festival

LEKOPANYE MOOKETSI
Correspondent | Friday July 20, 2012 00:00

 

For Johwa, taking part in this popular festival was not about making money but rather getting the much sought after exposure. 

'It is not a place to make money; it is a place to market yourself,' says Johwa who was performing in the fringe artists' stages.  He says at some point, they shared the stage during which each artist had to perform for 30 minutes.  By his own standards, Johwa, who has just scooped first prize for contemporary music in the Presidential Music Awards, their first show was not well attended.  But this did not deter him from marketing his music to foreign audiences.

The following day, he grabbed his guitar and raided the green zone, which is like a flea market. Draped in the Botswana national flag, he started stumming his guitar in front of the stalls and this time around, he struck the right chord.  'People were watching our shows.  This is where we met promoters,' he says. 

He adds that they were exposed to conferences where they met promoters from all over the world.  He says the Grahamstown festival is not all about music; There are also poetry, drama and film sessions.

Johwa says all the artists who performed at the festival were profiled in a booklet.  He says shows were also advertised in the local newspaper, adding that he received tremendous support.

'It is true that if you don't travel, you don't learn much.  I managed to network,  especially when there was a conference.  I was interviewed by two radio stations, one of them being the Rhodes University radio station.'

Johwa is happy he was able to sell his CDs and other promotional material.

In Johwa's view, what is impressive about the Festival is that it is attended by people from all over the world. 'Everyone was just doing his/her own thing,' is how he sums it up.  'We also had a lot of South African drummers,' he adds.

Johwa took his entire band to the festival, but he has since realised that it was unnecessary to do so because everything was provided. 

Although it cost him an arm and a leg to travel to the festival he has no regrets.  'If you asked me if I would do it again, I would say yes,' he says.

Before performances, artists made presentations about their profiles.  In other words you had to market yourself,' says the man who has been famed as Satchilombe.  Johwa was also marketing the country and telling people about Batswana's culture. 

At some stage when Johwa was performing, a South African group, Take Note - was so enthralled with his style that they joined him on stage.

Johwa and his band also went to play at the 1820 Settlers' monument.  He was also invited to make some presentations at a prison or Correctional Services Centre, as prisons are called in South Africa.  'I made my presentation in Zulu and Xhosa. 

During his performances at the festival, Johwa dazzled patrons with one of his latest hits. 

'This is a song about my name.  When I was born, the song was very popular. When I was a small boy, I would get a stick and play the song ,' he recalls. 

'I told my mother that I wanted to dedicate the song to my grandmother,' he says about his latest hit, which is set to take the music industry by storm.

Johwa cherishes his performance at the festival.  'I met people from Jo'burg and Cape Town.  One guy said he would like to attend the Domboshamba festival (in Botswana).  They also want us to create a place where they could come and listen to jazz,' he says.

'I wish local companies could sponsor similar festivals here,' says Johwa, adding that the Grahamstown festival was sponsored by Standard Bank.

Meanwhile, Johwa has been invited to the Zimbabwean Arts Festival to be held in Masvingo later this year.