Dusty & Stones

Dusty & Stones is a musical duo from Mbabane, Swaziland. The country music ensemble is made up of Gazi ‘Dusty’ Simelane and Linda ‘Stones’ Msibi’s. They are cousin brothers who hail from Mooihoek, Hlathikulu, in the Shiselweni region. Dusty attended Etjendlovu Primary School and completed at Velebantfu High School. Stones went to Ngwane Practicing Primary School, then to Franson Christian High and completed at Ngwane Central High School. They started off as DR Stones but a local reporter once remarked that their names would sound better as a duo so she joined their names and Dusty and Stones was born.

Dusty studied at University of Swaziland (UNISWA) and is a teacher at Swazi National High. Stones on the other hand, studied at SCOT and is a Quantity Surveyor for a Mbabane-based construction company. The two grew up listening to the music of Don Williams and Kenny Rogers. They later discovered other great artists like Alan Jackson, Dwight Yoakam, Vince Gill, Brad Paisley, Brooks and Dunn, The Bellamy Brothers, Kris Krissstofferson, LeeAnn Womack and many others.

While growing up, they had no idea that one day they would become country music artists. Back then they used to learn how to play the guitar. They played songs which they heard on the radio’s Country programme. A number of people encouraged them to seriously consider music as part of their profession. They began playing in church and restaurants with their sisters.

In July 2012, they released an 18-track debut album titled ‘Mooihoek Country Fever’. Some of the popular tracks in the album include ‘Ride with Me’ which is enjoyed massive airplay on local TV stations. Another song is ‘Home,’ which had over 5 000 views on YouTube 2012.

They take pride in having won three awards at the Tihlabani Awards in the Best Country Group/Artist Of The Year categories for three consecutive years namely 2009, 2010 and 2011.