Freshlyground was one of the many talented African bands that I really enjoyed sharing with the world during my college years as the host of African Extravaganza, the premier African radio show at the University of Texas at Austin, on KVRX 91.7 FM. The first song I heard from them was titled “Doo Be Doo” and I was immediately hooked to their unique sound and the lead singer’s voice. Their music is an experience that takes you on a journey from the rough streets of Soweto to the fancy orchestra halls in Cape Town. It’s very difficult to find a South African who doesn’t enjoy or can relate to their music. The reason being they bring more than great tunes to the airwaves, they also represent the evolved history of South Africa. During the South Africa 2010 world cup, they teamed up with Shakira to sing the very popular world cup theme song, “This Time for Africa“. The lead singer, Zolani, has such a unique and sophisticated voice that can quickly get you to dance without care in one minute, and in the next minute, make you cry as you slow dance with your love.
When I was getting ready to move to South Africa from the US, I made a wish list of things I would like to accomplish during my three months in Joburg (aka Johannesburg lol) and it should be of no surprise that going to a Freshlyground concert was one of the top things on the list. On August 30th 2015, I was fortunate to check it off my list.
I knew they would perform most of their newer songs. But as I waited for them to get on stage at Carnival City, I hoped they would perform “Doo Be Doo” so I could dance down memory lane. When the song finally came on, I was elated. The live performance of the song quickly turned into a party on stage as you can see from the video above. If you’re passionate about music, then you know that a true indication of a great band is their live performance. Freshlyground owned the stage and received a dancing ovation from the audience throughout their set.
I highly recommend their music and if you can, go to their concerts; you will not be disappointed. Their music is available on all the popular music platforms like iTunes, Spotify and Pandora; look them up and enjoy the party.