Africa unites on Bassline Fest stage

The Bassline Fest stage was set in front of the 24-year-old Constitutional Court, which was established at the dawn of democracy in South Africa. The initial excitement for this year’s event was incited by the announcement that the annual Africa Day Concert would be a three-day festival, but concertgoers were treated to only one day of music due to various cancelations. But this did not put a damper on proceedings.

The first act to relieve the audience from the cold was Afrobeat artist Femi Koya whose engagement with the crowd was true to the tenets of the genre, where audience engagement is central. Koya's backup singers also hypnotised the audience with nonstop dance moves. Evidently, the ladies on stage also wanted to keep warm.

The evening was off to a great start. Nakhane ran with the jovial mood set by Koya. The indie multi-instrumentalist took to the stage in a scarlet suit. His fingers danced melodically on the keyboard and he followed suit with a series of uncoordinated dance moves to the rhythm of his music.

"Nakhane’s music is the kind that you’d want to make love to fast but slow at the same – there’s a pun about 'brave confusion' in there somewhere," a concertgoer said.

Mozambican band Ghorwane brought marrabenta energy to Bassline Fest. Although their performance was not met with euphoria, they managed to offer an authentic experience of the music that Mozambique has to offer.

Speaking backstage to music in Africa about the importance of African Day, Ghorwane lead singer and guitarist Roberto Chitsonzo said: “I think it’s very important because we remember the day of Africa. Now all of the countries in Africa are independent. Africa is free. We can say thank you to people like Mandela and Samora Machel. The audience is nice, a diverse mix of races, so I think it's important.”

Zwai Bala from '90s South African kwaito band TKZee also shared his thoughts about Africa Day. “I think it’s a good thing that we have it but I don’t think South Africans take it seriously enough," he said. "It’s a day or month just to explore and get to know the rest of the continent. I don’t think organisations take Africa Day seriously enough to do something about it. Being here is an amazing experience. Bassline has really done an amazing job putting this concert together."

The older generation of artist’s at the event reminded their contemporaries about why they bear the 'legend' status.

Sipho ‘Hotstix’ Mabuse brought the house down with ‘Shikisha’ and ‘Burnout’. Malian singer Salif Keita, who was reported to have collapsed after arriving in Johannesburg last week, had to be assisted onto the stage. He performed two songs before walking off, but later returned to blow the roof off the house with his hit ‘Africa’, which he performed together with Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

The highlight of the evening was the collaborative performance between Keita, Yemi Alade and Ladysmith Black Mambazo. Alade’s individual performance was nothing to write home about but she brought out her best during her collaboration with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, which made for perfect contrast between the all-male choral group and the Nigerian's sweet voice. The performance also brought out the Black Mambazo we have all come to know, with the group showing of their near-acrobatic dancing and synchronised choreography. The audiences roared in appreciation.

Then the hosts announced the end of the TV broadcast and didn’t make it clear that the concert wasn’t over yet, with Dub Inc, who had performed at MTN Bushfire in Swaziland the previous day, still to come. Their set was met with technical problems and had to be delayed. But the French band was able to take the stage with gusto and electrified the dulled spirits of the audience, whose numbers had dwindled.

Bassline Fest was a marked improvement on the 2017 Africa Day Concert where a disappointing turnout, despite big-name artists such as the late Ray Phiri and Thandiswa Mazwai, put a big question mark on the future of the event.