Ladysmith Black Mambazo will pay homage to Nelson Mandela, Joseph Shabalala with concert

Ladysmith Black Mambazo will honour Nelson Mandela with a performance, nine years after the death of the SA icon.

The Celebrate Nelson Mandela concert, set to take place at The Joburg Theatre on July 17, will celebrate the life of Madiba, a proud supporter of the five time Grammy winners, and pay tribute to the founder of the group Professor Joseph Shabalala as they mark their 62-year anniversary as a group. 

Speaking to TshisaLIVE, Sibongiseni Shabalala, son of Joseph Shabalala who founded the group in 1964, spoke of how Mandela was a proud supporter of the group as they sang songs of freedom.

“Nelson Mandela was a big supporter of us, so we'll pay homage to him by playing our Long Walk To Freedom which was a tribute to him.”

Sibongiseni said the show, set to be broadcast later on BET, will see the group do a special tribute to his father as well.

“Among the hit songs we have, we'll also perform our tribute song to my father. He worked hard for us to keep up the legacy and we try remember him every time we perform, as the founder of the group.”

Ladysmith Black Mambazo are expected to tour the UK in October alongside Gods Fellas from Rustenburg and Meduduwetsane from Kimberley, from their selected groups through their Ladysmith Black Mambazo Mobile Academy programme.

“We chose a cappella groups specifically. This gives them an opportunity to see how we operate and we can teach them some things they might encounter in their own career.”