Grammy award winner and hitmaker, Zakes Bantwini says he is not worried about filling the DHL stadium in Cape Town for his Abantu Concert in October.
Bantwini, who announced that he would be bowing out of the music scene after 15 years of successful hit making, announced that he would be staging a concert to unite his fans in a farewell concert.
“The concert is about crossing the racial lines and bringing South Africans together in dance and singing. There has been no concert that aims to bring all races together, often concerts target a specific racial group, I wanted a concert that brought South Africans together,” he said.
In a sit-down interview with the Weekend Argus, Bantwini shared how he performed the same set of songs for two different audiences and the response was exactly the same.
“I remember performing for a black audience and then a white audience on the same weekend, and the reactions were exactly the same. I then wondered why not bring the audiences together,” he said.
Bantwini said although born and raised in KwaZulu-Natal, Cape Town as a location was specifically selected because his international audiences were largely drawn to Cape Town, and his local audience flocked to Cape Town during the festive season.
“Whenever I performed internationally and asked my fans if they’d been to South Africa, they would all unanimously say they have visited Cape Town or would like to still do so. South Africans love Cape Town and is probably the one city where you’ll find a bit of everyone,” he said.
Bantwini said the concert had many surprises, including international acts as well as local artists.
“The line-up on the day will be beautiful music and will be performed alongside artists I personally enjoy, both internationally and locally. The show will be an exchange of language and music coming together as one. The stage will be spectacular with lighting,” he said.
Bantwini said he believed in South Africans, they never failed and would ensure the DHL stadium was filled to full capacity in October.
“As South Africans we don’t fail. We have never failed. I am not worried, we will fill that stadium, when we put our hearts into something, we always succeed,” he said.
Bantwini said the concert was meant to have taken place on Freedom Day.
“From next year, the Abantu concert will take place on Freedom Day. It will be an annual concert for three years,” he said.
Bantwini will take the time off making music by spending time with his wife, Nandi Madida and his children.
“I have also launched an agency with my business partner. The aim is to create more female-owned music labels. We’ve partnered with Boity and Nomcebo Zikode on this vision. We also want to sign athletes who resemble excellence,” he said.
Sibo Mahlangu, Bantwini’s business partner in new record label, Aline said: “The response to our announcement of the show has been overwhelming and beyond our expectations. Zakes and I are excited and looking forward to putting on a world-class show in the City of Cape Town. It’s going to be a world-class show that celebrates African exceptionalism at the highest level.”