06 Feb 2025

“If music be the food of love, play on,” Duke Orsino’s famous line in William Shakepeare’s play, Twelfth Night, comes to mind as local band, We Don’t Play (WDP), prepares to radiate the Gaborone entertainment scene this weekend.

Conjuring imagery of how music stimulates the mind and feeds the soul, the saying aptly captures what is to be expected as WDP performs at Molapo Piazza in  Gaborone today and tomorrow evening.

A crossover jazz band, WDP, is known for their rearrangements of contemporary songs, blending jazz with elements of Botswana’s varied musical heritage, bridging the gap between tradition and modernity.

WDP is powered by an ensemble of some of Botswana’s finest musicians led by drummer Leroy Nyoni, and featuring Thero Seleka on guitar, Michael Mokgatitswane on bass, Tebogo Gaetsewe on vocals, Benjamin Msemburi on saxophone as well as Maleho Makgothi on sound engineering.

Nyoni, who has a decade long experience as the lead drummer for Sereetsi and The Natives, is the WDP band founder, and contributes vocals in addition to his class drumming, akin to the British pop legend, Phil Collins, who was the drummer and lead vocalist of Genesis, the classic band that featured fellow music legends Peter Gabriel and Mike Rutherford.

Nyoni revealed to BOPA that WDP was the flagship artist group of All Things Musical, an audio and entertainment agency specialising in curating events and audio solutions. Nyoni further revealed that the agency, which he leads as Executive and Artistic Director, had successfully executed over 40 live music events since 2016.

In their musical repertoire is a collection of creative remakes of local musical classics.

The WDP debut album, The Bechuanaland Sessions: Phase 1, available on all streaming platforms, features cover tracks of local classics such as Robete (originally by Sereetsi and The Natives), Transition (by Samantha Mogwe ft Zeus), and Sala Le Nna (by the late Dramaboi ft Katlego Ramphaleng).

Their live performances often feature renditions of other local classics such as HT Tautona’s Gotta Go, Scar’s debut rap masterpiece, My People, and KX Legit’s Jikeleza.

They have focused their live performances on corporate functions, and intimate sessions at venues such as Botswana Craft, and now Molapo Piazza, as well as their signature Crib Shindigs - intimate backyard sessions that provide fans with an up-close experience of WDP artistry. 

Tickets for tomorrow’s event are already sold out, and Nyoni anticipates the same for the  today’s evening event. ENDS