21 May 2019

A battle of aspiring contemporary music artists and Disc Jockey’s ensued at Tsabong Stadium over the weekend as the youthful artists fought hard to earn a place in President's Day Competitions penciled for Gaborone in July this year. 

Artists took turns to impress the judges through renditions of contemporary music during the Kgalagadi regional President Day Competitions, a competition which had brought all artists from the western region and the Ghanzi district. 

Ghanzi group, Obligatto & Original Stars caught the judge’s attention as they performed live band Rhumba genre scoring 84 per cent, guaranteeing them a place in the finals.

Still, under the Live Band Category, De Dance Doctors from Kang scooped the second position while Lewesto and Segaro Musica won third position. 

“This year we managed to correct our mistakes after looking at the judge’s marking sheet. 

The sheet showed us that our instrumentals and vocals did not balance in the past now we have been able to fix that,” said 25-year-old Bonnie Madumane who is a dancer in Obligatto & Original Stars group.

 He said the 15-member live band from Ghanzi was formed in 2015 and they had tasted a win at the 2016 regional competitions but lost in 2017 and 2018.

“Gompieno re kgonne. Jaanong re ya go ntsha ga tshwene kwa Gaborone,” he said with a smile.

Meanwhile, under the Live Band Newcomer category, John Vatumber & Makhiel Stars from Kang scooped position one while Motswako got position two and Omajova in position three. 

In an interview, John Vatumber and Makhiel Stars vocalist, Didimatsang Mothethi said the live performance band which comprised 14 members with ages ranging from 15 to 35 was formed in 2019.

He was fascinated that they started on the right footing as their newly formed band won the regional competitions under the Rhumba genre.

According to Mothethi, they formed the band to keep themselves busy and curb alcohol abuse and crime and to earn a living. 

“We are determined to move forward with the competition and penetrate Botswana’s entertainment industry. We will do our best in July,” he said.

Under the New Comer Live Backtrack category, Redemption had the crowd eating from his hand, earning the highest scores from the judges. 

“Redemption made the day today, he ticked all the boxes of an artist. He was singing well with his vocals in sync with his instrumentals at the right levels giving us good music,” said competition judge Moabi Mabe. 

He said the competition gave artists exposure and built their confidence. 

“It teaches them planning for performance as these are not professional musicians they are self-taught and so they are able to do informal benchmarking through competition.” 

Further judge Mabe said the competition could grow the creative industry in the Kgalagadi and Ghanzi region as most of the artist had shown improvement.

He said if artists wanted to succeed, making music should not be about the money from the President’s Day music competitions rather it should be about ambition, adding that the competition should be used to move to the next level and achieve something bigger. 

Daniel Molefe from the District Commissioner’s office appreciated all competitors for coming to Tsabong from all over Kgalagadi and Ghanzi travelling long distances. 

The theme for the day was 'Creative industry, a vehicle for sustainable development'.

Speaking about the theme, Ministry of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development representative Saziba Mphali said the competitions were aimed at recognising and appreciating the creative talent of the artists. 

He said the intention was to also develop the creative industry from community level as well as develop their performance and presentation skills before the audience.

Other regional President’s Day Competitions on cards are the Polka and Namastap category which will be held at Tsabong Unified Secondary School on June 1. ENDS