01 May 2023

The long awaited Soul Fill Up festival pulled an impressive crowd on Saturday. 

With fun lovers having been spoilt for choice with major social and entertainment events taking place on the same day over the weekend such as the annual Khawa June challenge and the FNB Golden Grand Prix athletic event, loyal Franco supporters remained faithful and filled the Royal Aria stadium in Tlokweng in support of local artists.

Although the turn up was not what was expected, organisers of the event which is now in it’s second edition, were not disappointed.

The event organiser, Bafana Pheto also known as Phempheretlhe in the music cycles said unforeseen circumstances they encountered which involved moving the show from the national stadium to the current venue and changing the initial date from April 1 to month end affected their fan base.

 Although it’s disappointing that they were not able to attract more than 18 000 numbers in the first edition last year, Pheto said the Soul Fill Up Show was still relevant and could still do better if they worked on addressing their challenges.

“There is no event today in the country that has managed to pull the same numbers as ours,” he emphasised, saying that was testimony that Batswana wanted to support local Entertainment.

He pointed out that they managed to put up a great show with more than 30 local artists in the line up including DJs who all honoured their appearances and staged a good show for their fans without compromising quality.

Owner of the show, Frank Lesokwane aka Franco is also not counting his losses but instead acknowledged that “you can’t always have everything your way.”

“I am happy with the turn up since we were not sure if people would turn up after the show was cancelled before,” he said. 

He said fans should expect another edition next year as they wanted to prove that Batswana could support local music and be able to fill up the stadium without foreign artists presence, a belief and concept behind the Soul Fill Up show.

When quizzed on his recent decision to go public about his political affiliation and a public back lash on same, he stated that he saw nothing wrong with disclosing his political affiliation as it had nothing to do with his music but rather a personal choice.

Franco appeared on the stage a few minutes after midnight although he was initially scheduled to deliver an earlier performance in the evening and a second one at midnight and the last one in the early hours of Sunday morning. 

He said he did not perform earlier as intended because fans came late.

Nonetheless, he managed to deliver an electrifying performance, dishing out the fans’ favourite songs as they sang along.

The Ke lela le lona hit maker proved that he was still the kwasa king as he interacted with his fans and got them to own the show as they got a chance to sample their favourite songs they wanted him to play and danced the night away.

Speaking on the side lines Scavenja mentioned that he was happy with the turn up given the busy weekend. 

He nonetheless urged Batswana to support local brand and be proud of building and growing the local story. 

He said supporters should desist from fault finding tendencies on one of their own because such a practice would deter others from pioneering new ideas or ventures.

For his part Tshumo, Dikakapa lead singer observed that the trickle effects of COVID-19 could still be seen as the purchasing power of many people have been eroded. 

He however stressed that Batswana had a moral obligation to support local despite challenges.

The Soul Fill Up show was held at Royal Aria stadium after it was first scheduled for April 1st and cancelled owing to unforeseen circumstances at the time. Ends