30 Oct 2022

Botswana’s finest Afro Jazz sensation Punah Gabasiane and traditional outfit Culture Spears alongside South Africa’s legendary artiste, Ringo Madlingozi gave music revellers in the north an early Christmas with their captivating performances during the Taste of the African Cultural event on Saturday.

The trio proved to be maestros in their craft looking at the audience’s state of euphoria throughout the night at Francistown’s Riverside Deck Molapo. 

They had more than 1 000 revellers eating from the palms of their hands.

The event drew music fans from Francistown and its peripheries, making it one of the best pre- Christmas present.

Taste of Africa is an African cultural event aimed at uniting Africans through their delicacies and music that has proved its status, evidenced by its ability to attract a sizeable number of patrons.

Ringo, the Eastern Cape born singer, opened and set the stage on fire by giving the revellers the very best of African music and dance.

The African Jazz muso of Sondela Sthandwa fame, who is known for his moving voice, was on his pivot form.

Ringo’s songs Into Yame and Sondela took revellers down the memory lane, which saw them begging for more until he dropped Ekuseni.

Culture Spears of Kulenyane fame also left a lasting impression. 

Clad in traditional attire, Culture Spears set the stage on fire and had those in attendance on their toes throughout their set. 

The troupe is known for engaging their followers with their performances.

Revellers wasted no time in joining the locals on the dance floor as the traditional group sang five songs from the album, Kulenyane.

Gabasiane too on her own right did not disappoint as she sent the revellers into a frenzy. 

The Iyoo nna star is known for her stage performances.

The way the three female dancers moved on the stage was brilliant and their set reached a climax when they sang Nchadinyana and by the time they sang the title track, Kulenyane, the crowd was in a mean mood.

Before they could even start, some of the revellers were positioned to join in the dance. 

When they finished, it was clear that Culture Spears gave Batswana what they wanted.

“The people out there are our bosses so we want to do our best whenever given a chance. 

The other thing which inspired our performance on the night was that we were the only traditional group and wanted to prove a point,” he said.

Apart from the main performers, there were various African food being offered for sale to allow people to taste and experience African delicacies.

The event spokesperson, Mercy Ramojela said what made Taste of African different from other cultural events was the African cuisines apart.  

Taste of Africa is hosted by Kenramzzy Media, a local media company owned by Ramojela and husband Dr Kennedy Ramojela, who target the entire music family by selling an African experience including, but not exclusive to music and food. Ends