Publications
Partners
Johannesburg - There were no costume changes, frills, bells or whistles – just music.
Simphiwe Dana celebrated 10 glorious years in the music industry at Bassline in Newtown last Saturday.
The venue was filled to the brim with a crowd that sang along to her hit songs, such as Ndiredi and Zandisile, over the past decade.
The evening kicked off with poetry, with three local poets dominating the stage.
They were soon followed by rising star Nakhane Touré, who serenaded applauding fans with his intimate guitar skills.
As for the main act, I expected a fierce and feisty firebrand, but instead experienced a subdued Dana, who by and large stuck to the script.
With the seasoned singer’s reputation as an artist-cum-social commentator, I was expecting her to speak her mind about recent events, but she referred to the recent xenophobia attacks in South Africa only in passing. Dressed in a regal David Tlale black number, when Dana walked on stage she was greeted by mostly screaming fans.
After a brief welcome, she launched into one of her more memorable songs, Zandisile, from her debut album of the same name.
She also impressed the crowd when she paid tribute to South African singing legend Miriam Makeba with the song Meadowlands.
Ndiredi followed much later – when the sing-alongs grew much louder, building to a musical frenzy in her repertoire, which culminated in some thumping kwaito tunes.
During Dana’s set, which lasted for more than two hours, I witnessed men dancing, screaming and singing along – with one enthusiastic male fan displaying moves better suited to a trance party.
Another fan, who attended with his friends, said Dana was a different kind of artist who “stands for what she believes in and speaks her mind”.
It was without doubt one of Newtown’s biggest and most memorable nights
