Friday 26 May
Supported by Concerts SA, in conjunction with The Headroom, Steve Newman graces the Winston Churchill Theatre stage on Friday 26 May.
Steve Newman has written a history for himself that few can equal. A consummate instrumentalist who can pick out any tune you name, he has travelled and traversed the length and breadth of SA plying his magic and gathering a formidable following who turn out to see him time and again. A guitarist with a musical career that spans almost 30 years, Newman has produced no less than 17 recorded albums and has won multiple awards.
With his world-famous band Tananas, formed in 1987, Newman has received a string of awards for albums released with Tananas and has toured the world on Peter Gabriel’s Womad platform. Travelling around the globe, he has collaborated with the likes of Paul Simon, Sting and Youssou N’dour. He also performed at the Cape Town International Jazz Festival.
In South Africa he can often be seen in concert with Tony Cox and Greg Georgiades- finger style guitarists with great audience rapport- and with Greg Georgiades and tabla player Ashish Joshi, performing as Strings and Strings. Newman has also been part of Jikanelanga, a collaboration that includes artists like vocalist and traditional instrumentalist Lu Dlamini, Godfrey Mgcina- one of our greatest percussionists- and Zamo Mbutho, a vocal maestro that worked with Miriam Makeba until her last day on earth.
Much loved back home as one of the most uniquely gifted guitarists ever to come out of our country, Newman is constantly collaborating with someone or other in a fluid life that finally seems to be bringing him the accolades and deserved success that his talent has promised would come for so many years.
The evening is special in every way; the opening act is one of KZN’s sons of the soil, Zothani Dlamini, with his Maskandi music. Wikipedia says Maskandi music originated from European music, then it was translated into Afrikaans cultural practices and then borrowed and transformed into Zulu musical language. In Durban they called it ‘‘the music played by the man on the move, the modern minstrel, today’s troubadour”.
Dlamini’s music inspires growth and safety in communities and encourages the young to do good at all times.
This concert by is organised by The Headroom as part of the Concerts SA Venue Circuit, which aims to encourage appreciation for local music through concerts and workshop elements for school children.
The day starts early at the Winston Churchill Theatre with a lunch hour event for schools that are guests to the theatre experience presented by young guitarist, Mbijana Sibisi, who carries the KZN flag very high with his amazing talent. Sibisi represented KZN on the internationally acclaimed music competition platform The Voice. Other KZN artists will be featured with Sibisi on this day to entertain students.
Catch all of this at The Winston Churchill Theatre in Pietermaritzburg on 26 May. Supported by Concerts SA, a joint South African/Norwegian live music development project housed within the SAMRO Foundation. Concerts SA receives financial, administrative and technical support from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, SAMRO, the SAMRO Foundation and Concerts Norway. Working with musicians, promoters, venue owners and audiences, and providing support to the sector through research and skills development for music professionals, the project aims to build a vibrant and viable live music circuit in southern Africa. It also aims to develop an interest in and appreciation of live music by showcasing music performances and conducting workshops at schools.
For more information please visit our website http://concertssa.co.za, follow @ConcertsSA on Twitter at http://twitter.com/ConcertsSA or like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ConcertsSA
Venue: The Winston Churchill Theatre
Friday, 26 May
Time: 7h30pm
Admission: R50.00
Phone: 033 392 2264
Address: 2 Leinster Rd, Pietermaritzburg
