Legendary South African Afro-fusion band Stimela is billed to perform for the first time at this year’s Lemo Fest, taking place in Bloemfontein from 3 to 18 October.
The band is featured in the Afro Soul and Jazz show scheduled for Saturday, 11 October. Featuring 13 performing artists, the show will bring down the curtain on the extravagant music shows that have been planned.
Lemo Fest offerings include comedy, art and fashion shows, as well as motorsport spinning. This year marks the third instalment of the festival that distinguishes itself by hosting all activities in the township. It is organised by businessman Freddie Kenny, who is Bloemfontein-born and bred.
Stimela is returning to the limelight with a blend talent − the new generation is teaming up with seasoned band members to offer the audience a taste of timeless and conscious music.
This will be the band’s first show in the Free State’s capital since the Covid-19 pandemic and the devastating deaths of four members. Surviving and new members continuing the band’s rich legacy are Jabu Sibumbe, bass guitarist; Thapelo Khomo, keyboardist; Ntokozo Zungu, lead guitarist; and Sam Ndlovu, vocalist.
Deceased members include: Tsietsi Daniel Motijoane, the vocalist well-known as Nana Coyote (1955 – July 2010); Ray Chikapa Phiri, vocalist and guitarist (1947 – July 2017); Isaac “Mca” Mtshali, drummer (1955 – August 2019); and Thabo Lloyd Lelosa, keyboardist (1955 – December 2021).
Sibumbe, one of the four founders of Stimela in the 1980s, delightedly confirmed the band’s return to the South African entertainment stage with the Lemo Fest.
According to Sibumbe, the festival is well-timed for igniting the fire in the band.
“The festival resonates well with the philosophy of Stimela − pioneering for black upliftment and consciousness through our music and messaging. Therefore, we believe we need to support it and the effort of the organiser towards uplifting people in the township. Stimela is rooted in its people, their experiences of township life and their struggles,” he said.
However, Sibumbe stated that the band was in a significant transition after losing members.
“We have on board a new generation, that includes vocalist Sam, who has been baptized into Stimela’s broad philosophy of the people. The four founding members − including myself, Sibumbe, Ray, Lloyd and Mtshali − were inspired by the philosophy of the people. The band is coming to Bloemfontein with renewed energy.”
Sibumbe explained that bringing on board youthful talented musicians and collaborations is part of the heritage of the band and that this open-minded approach significantly contributed to the longevity of the band.
“Going forward, you will see mainly young and upcoming artists from different places. There are so many musically talented individuals around Africa, but none of them can replace any person in the world because God gave each of us, individually, something that no one else can replace.”
Legacy well established
The band’s career spans over three decades since its formation in the 1980s. Stimela is also popularly known as the People’s Band, because they offer a distinctive music genre, which is appealing to a broad audience − both older listeners and young people.
Some of the band’s thought-provoking songs were unpopular with the apartheid regime. They include “Look, Listen and Decide,” “Unfinished Story,” “Trouble in the Land of Plenty” and “Highland Drifter,” which the apartheid government reportedly banned from airplay on any SABC radio stations, while “Whispers in the Deep” also faced restrictions by the past regime. Other inspiring Stimela songs are “African Changes,” “See the World Through the Eyes of a Child,” “Nkata mgreeka (Danger Signs)” and “Rubbing Sand in my Eyes”.
