16 Oct 2023

The first Heritage Tour concert funded by the National Arts Council of South Africa and hosted by Botswana Craft was received well by jazz fans.

Featuring Botswana’s Lister Boleseng and South Africa’s Jesse and Moss Mogale, the concert which was held during the day attracted the elderly crowd.

Boleseng thrilled his fans with energetic charisma performing familiar favourites with a full band in tow. Lister let the anticipation of his new music linger on the fans, and  it turned out to be worth the wait as the performance kept the audience interested. John Selolwane, known as Uncle John also stepped on to stage to join Boleseng and the band, complementing the performance and giving the audience a marvel performance of his times.

“Day events are important now especially that we speak of mindset change. We need to educate and encourage our audience to day concerts, because day shows provide a relaxed mood, with safety and comfort to enjoy yourself,” Lister said of the Heritage Tour concert.

Jesse and Moss Mogale took the stage as the headliners of the event, also the mastermind behind the tour concept. The band, from Mamelodi, Pretoria gave their Botswana fan base their all, since it was the first time they performed at Botswana Craft. With Moss Mogale, an older band member who is brother to Jesse, on guitar, the band delivered a non-stop, high-energy performance that resonated with the crowd who tapped their feet enjoying the jazzy notes from the band.

Talking of the Heritage Tour concert, Jesse said he chose Botswana because of the relations he previously had with some of the local musicians such as Citie Seetso. He said they spoke of collaboration with Seetso back in 2012, but the idea was not realised. However, fast forward, Jesse said his interest in Boleseng’s production was the sound. “I loved their sound, they sounded great and I loved the fact that if you get two groups together that sounded great it will be good for the audience,” explained Jesse.

A Director of the Committed Artists For Cultural Advancement, which is a music programme, Jesse said he was always looking to collaborate. He previously worked with Akuteleng Kekwaletse who runs a jazz school in Gaborone and also the organiser of International Jazz Day.

Boleseng will also return the Botswana collaboration tour leg in future to Pretoria. He said besides his band, he hoped take along young musicians who play different horns, adding that taking them to South Africa would be great for exposure and possible collaborations. ENDS