Friday, January 27, 2012, 7pm

Ladysmith Black Mambazo

presented in collaboration with KOTO community radio
http://www.mambazo.com/

Advance Tickets: $20/children & students,  $32/ adults, lap children free 

Since their earliest recordings and performances, the South African-based Grammy Award-winning a cappella group Ladysmith Black Mambazo – as individuals and as a group – have maintained a respect and a reverence for their past. Indeed, the centuries-old story of their homeland – sometimes joyous, sometimes troubled, but always rich and exhilarating – has been at the very foundation of this vocal group since its very beginning.

But alongside the South African history witnessed by an entire world, there’s a quieter, more personal past shared by the members of Ladysmith Black Mambazo – a time of youth and innocence, when the world consisted of nothing more than the hills and open fields of their parents’ farms in Zulu country. Before the stage performances, before the collaborations with American pop stars, before the Grammy nominations and awards, before all of that and so much more, the only songs these children knew were the traditional folk tunes handed down to them by their parents, their grandparents, and the countless generations that preceded them.

And yet, for all the decades that have come and gone, these songs are still very much alive.
“These are songs from the earliest time in our lives,” says front man, Joseph Shabalala. “These are stories our fathers and mothers and other relatives shared with us, songs our grandparents sang. We have changed them somewhat and/or added extra harmonies and lyrics, but overall these songs represent an important memory of our early life. When we sing these songs, we’re singing songs from our history. It is such a joy for us to put these stories and songs together for our fans to enjoy too.”

Don’t miss this opportunity to see this Grammy award-winning group!