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Artist Test ZOLANI THE ONE WHO SINGS

ZOLANI THE ONE WHO SINGS

Zolani The One Who Sings + The Feminine Force

Former lead singer of the critically acclaimed pan-African supergroup Freshlyground, Zolani Mahola is The One Who Sings. The band was together for 17 years and produced 6 albums and most famously collaborated with Shakira on the song “Waka Waka” in 2010 and is known for uniting audiences across the world across boundaries of race, age or gender. In her work with Freshlyground, Mahola has shared and opened stages for greats such as Stevie Wonder, Hugh Masekela, Shakira, Johnny Clegg, BB King and many others.

Performing with:

YoungstaCPT
PJ Powers
THE RUDIMENTALS

In 2019 she officially announced the launch of her solo career as a musician, storyteller and public speaker. In her own words: “Our world is changing. The old stories have worn thin. We are telling new stories now. We are creating new realities: ones which inspire and give us true power.”

The beginning of 2020 saw her collaborate with Grammy Award-winning cellist Yo-Yo Ma and October 2020 saw her share a bill with legendary musician Dave Matthews. She also released the anthemic and patriotic song “Because We Are” with long-time collaborator Aron Ha’Levi. The song saw the feature of over 30 artists across the South African music scene, including legends and popular artists such as Yvonne Chaka Chaka, J Something, Karen Zoid, Amanda Black, Vusi Mahlasela, Arno Carstens, Francois Van Coke to name but a few.

Mahola won the prestigious Fleur Du Cap award as “Best Actress” for her 2019 self-written critically acclaimed one woman play based on her life entitled “The One Who Sings. November 2020 saw her stage the multimedia work “You Need To Say It” at the Baxter theatre in Cape Town. The show included elements from Mahola’s debut solo album entitled “Thetha Mama” which was released in November of 2021. The album won best produced album this August at the South African Music awards and The One Who Sings is currently working on a follow-up album and three upcoming film projects for release late 2023 and 2024 respectively.

The Feminine Force is a roving band of femme musicians led by the pint-sized powerhouse that is The One Who Sings AKA Zolani Mahola. The band is her womb-child after the end of a highly successful 17-year partnership with her previous outfit: the internationally acclaimed, multi-award winning pan-African supergroup Freshlyground. The Feminine Force is what you hear and feel when women – or those socialized as femme people – gather to sing together, to grieve together and to joyously celebrate the exhilarating heartbreak that is life. Stylistically and intrinsically non-binary, the music is at once uplifting, sacred, rocking and deeply rooted in the indigenous feminine force of our land eMzantsi.

The music is written by The One Who Sings and is expressed by the highly skilled and impassioned band in six part harmony. It is fueled by folk guitars and powerful traditional Xhosa instruments. The band includes queer African instrumentalist, percussionist, marimba maker, songwriter, and singer Sky Dladla. Cal Thompson is a highly accomplished bass player and pianist, music education pioneer and founder of the Mobile Music Academy. Genevieve Lee studied opera at UCT music college and a student of the Amazonian tribe Huni Kuin’s traditional medixine music. Another talented roving member of the collective is Ntombe Halam, a recent graduate at UCT Music College in African music. Chante Phillips is an acolyte of the great Mozambican drumming legend Frank Paco and fiercely leads the bands rhythm section.

Zolani Mahola is passionate about children and youth as well as the natural world and our undeniable connection to it. As such she is an ambassador for the Seachange Project which released the ground-breaking documentary “My Octopus Teacher”. The team which produced the Oscar award-winning film is currently working on a feature film on the artist based on her connection to the ocean. She sits on the board of Zip Zap Circus School which empowers children of all walks of life with essential life skills. She is an the ambassador for the Morris Isaacson Centre for Music in the Johannesburg township of Soweto where music education is used as a tool to foster self-belief whilst creating world-class classically trained musicians in the process. She has also recently taken on ambassadorship for the Earthchild Project – an NPO which uses yoga, mindfulness and connection to nature to nurture children from under-resourced communities.

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Behind the scenes: our rockstar founder talks to Cape Talk

Image of the founder of Concerts in the Park, Charles Lindsay-Bowman

Meet our very own #ROCKSTAR and founder, who’s 92 years old!!!

NOT ONLY DOES HE HAVE A SHARP MIND, HIS FASHION SENSE AND WICKED SENSE OF HUMOUR IS IMPECCABLE. TREAT YOURSELF TO SOME CLASSIC CHARLES AND LISTEN BELOW.

The founder of Concerts in the Park, Charles Lindsay-Bowman, along with his staff, effortlessly makes sure every concert runs smoothly. He is involved down to the smallest detail and knows exactly what it takes to make sure YOU have a great experience with each and every artist booked!

Listen to his recent interview on Cape Talk below where Charles chats with Clarence Ford about its innovative and groundbreaking inception 12 years ago as well as what’s in store for the rest of the current event series.

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Concerts in the Park began 12 years ago with the vision to bring people of all races, religions and walks of life together to collectively enjoy some of the best musical artists South Africa has to offer. This unique event is held in Cape Town’s wonderful Victorian De Waal Park where artists play in the historic bandstand.

At the time, the only band and music Charles was familiar with was Just Ginger! Since then, Concerts in the Park has “grown from an acorn into a huge community concert series”.

For the first seven years. I did everything. The permits. The arranging. The toilets. It’s a massive thing. The booking of the artists… Now we have a very professional committee.

With virtually no experience and certainly no pop concert knowledge, Charles registered Concerts in the Park as a non-profit company. Hot Water was the first artist with around 1,000 fans; Prime Circle was featured later and brought in 8,000 gregarious visitors from babies to octogenarians. That’s what it’s about! Families and their friends, old and young – sharing a common excitement to experience the very best artists we are blessed with in South Africa.

Now, the event is in its 12th year with 10 event series under the belt, and only more and more exciting concerts to look forward to.

“People ask me constantly two questions actually. One is, why do I do it for 12 hours a day? The only person who’s ever come with an answer was my late wife and she said, “‘cause he’s an idiot” and I think she was dead right actually.”

As Ford said, here’s to Charles’ “rich legacy and a brand that’ll stand the test of time”. Oh, and the next time you see Charles, give him a high five!

Stay updated with the latest concert information and performances by following Concerts in the Park on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and signing up to our mailing list. We promise to only send you occasional announcements about upcoming concerts — we hate spam as much as you do!

Get your tickets here: Only R99-R129 online and R120-R150 at the door for incredible lineups featuring YoungstaCPT, Mango Groove, Lady Zamar, Zolani, and much, much more!

Read the initial Cape Talk article here.

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ZOLANI THE ONE WHO SINGS + THE FEMININE FORCE, PJ POWERS, YOUNGSTACPT, and THE RUDIMENTALS

Event banner for YoungstaCPT, ZOLANI THE ONE WHO SINGS + THE FEMININE FORCE, PJ POWERS & THE RUDIMENTALS

ZOLANI THE ONE WHO SINGS + THE FEMININE FORCE, PJ POWERS, YOUNGSTACPT, THE RUDIMENTALS and the WALDORF SCHOOL BAND

Concert = a Musical Performance Given in Public, typically by Several Performers”. And we’re bringing you a masterclass in musical storytelling, brimming with epic girl power and supported by dudes who most certainly can hold their own when it comes to creating titillating tunes.

Imagine this: one bandstand, two of the most iconic female voices in South Africa, a stoked audience inhaling the sounds of this incredible coming-together of legends, stunning De Waal Park on a blissful summer’s day… You get the picture. So – we at Concerts in the Park have actually pulled it off, we’ve created that moment in music history, the bringing together of the two lionesses of the South African music scene: the inimitable Zolani Mahola The One Who Sings and the phenomenal powerhouse that is PJ Powers and Cape Town’s King of rap, YoungstaCPT. And as if things aren’t electrifying enough, Zolani is flanked by an arsenal of powerful femmes aptly named The Feminine Force.

Former lead singer of the critically acclaimed pan-African supergroup Freshlyground, Zolani Mahola is The One Who Sings. Over 17 years the band produced 6 albums and most famously collaborated with Shakira on the song “Waka Waka” in 2010. In her work with Freshlyground, Mahola has shared and opened stages for greats such as Stevie Wonder, Hugh Masekela, Shakira, Johnny Clegg, BB King and many others. She collaborated with Grammy Award-winning cellist Yo-Yo Ma and shared a bill with legendary musician  Dave Matthews in 2020. She released the anthemic song “Because We Are” with long-time collaborator Aron Ha’Levi, featuring over 30 artists across the South African music scene, including legends Yvonne Chaka Chaka, J Something, Karen Zoid, Amanda Black, Vusi Mahlasela, Arno Carstens, Francois Van Coke, to name but a few.

Mahola won the prestigious Fleur Du Cap award as “Best Actress” for her 2019 self-written critically acclaimed one-woman play based on her life entitled “The One Who Sings”. “You Need To Say It” followed at the Baxter theatre. The show included elements from Mahola’s debut solo album entitled “Thetha Mama”(Nov 2021). The album won best produced album this August at the South African Music awards and The One Who Sings is currently working on a follow-up album and three upcoming film projects for release late 2023 and 2024 respectively. Super exciting stuff!

The Feminine Force is a roving band of femme musicians led by the pint-sized powerhouse that is The One Who Sings AKA Zolani Mahola. The band is her womb-child after the end of a highly successful 17-year partnership with Freshlyground. The Feminine Force is what you hear and feel when women – or those socialized as femme people – gather to sing together, to grieve together and to joyously celebrate the exhilarating heartbreak that life. Stylistically and intrinsically non-binary, the music is at once uplifting, sacred, rocking and deeply rooted in the indigenous feminine force of our land eMzantsi. The music is written by The One Who Sings and is expressed by the highly skilled and impassioned band in six part harmony, fueled by folk guitars and powerful traditional Xhosa instruments. Mahola is joined by 5 extraordinary women, each bringing their own magic to the stage.

Now, is there anyone in Mzanzi who hasn’t rocked to the ultimate feel-good anthem “Jabulani”?  PJ Powers “Thandeka” is an award-winning musician with 12 gold discs, four platinum and a gold CD. Her career started in 1980s as the lead singer of Hotline, and her solo career flourished during the 1990s and 2000s with hits such as “There is Answer”, “Feel So Strong”, “Jabulani”, “You’re So Good To Me” & “World in Union” which has become an iconic rugby world cup song. PJ Powers has shared the stage with many local and international stars such as Eric Clapton, Joan Armatrading, Annie Lennox, Peter Gabriel, Hugh Masekela, Sibongile Khumalo, the Mahotella Queens, Youssou N Dour, Miriam Makeba, Harry Belafonte and more recently The Corrs & Mike and the Mechanics. She’s performed for Queen Elizabeth, King Juan Carlos of Spain and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands! In 2003 she was asked to write the official 85th birthday song for President Mandela, which she sang to him and a host of luminaries such as Oprah Winfrey, Bill Clinton and many other world leaders during the international broadcast.

And now for something totally different! Welcome to the bandstand Wynberg boy Riyadh Roberts, better known as YoungstaCPT! With 30 mixtapes, 2 albums, numerous EPs and multiple accolades under his belt, he has been regarded as one of the most important South African emcees of his generation since launching his career in 2010. He describes his music as quintessentially ‘Cape Town’ and there’s no doubt that his music aptly captures the spirit of aspects of the Mother City. YoungstaCPT’s achievements are multifold: South African Music Awards Nominee in 2020, Album and Music Video of the Year at the SA Hip Hop Awards in 2019, Mixtape of the Year at Slikour Awards in 2018 and Lyricist of the Year in 2017. Apart from livening up the local music scene in Cape Town and South Africa, YoungstaCPT has toured extensively further afield to Australia, Switzerland, Dubai and Namibia. He’s opened the stage for numerous international acts, like Lil Wayne, Meek Mil and Nas.

The Rudimentals (“The Rudis”) also need no introduction: a 10-member household-name band from Cape Town, known for their explosive live performances, finds inspiration from a wide range of musical genres, including roots reggae, ska, dub, hip-hop and electronic music. Over the years they’ve had multiple successful releases and toured extensively, winning fans and critical acclaim with their catchy hooks, upbeat rhythms, and positive message. They’re proudly Capetonian, made up of diverse cultures and nationalities including Zimbabwean, Jamaican, American, Italian and of course South African. This is a big part of their unique sound.

On the day the quaint bandstand under the trees of De Waal Park will be warmed up by the youthful sounds of the super talented Waldorf School Band.

We c-a-n-n-o-t wait, can you? But if you’ve been dozing and not bought those golden tickets yet, we politely suggest you drop whatever you’re doing right now and make a beeline for the Buy Tickets Page. Because there’ll be no place more vibey to be than De Waal Park on March 12th, 2023.

Stay updated with the latest concert information and performances by following Concerts in the Park on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and signing up to our mailing list. We promise to only send you occasional announcements about upcoming concerts — we hate spam as much as you do!

Get your tickets here: Only R99 online and R120 at the door.