At BashaUhuru Freedom Music festival the past collidedwith the present, setting the tone for the next journey of an evolving music tradition in South Africa

By Edward Tsumele, CITYLIFE/ARTS Editor

It was a memorable event and Johannesburg musiclovers came in big numbers. Old friends reconnected, as they danced and enjoyed the day and night of high energy music. It was a place to be this past weekend, Saturday, September 13, 2025. If you missed this year’s leg of the iconic music festival, BashaUhuru, you must feel sorry. Really sorry for yourself. It is a place where in many ways we were reminded of the journey and the evolution of South African music, from kwaito to Amapiano.

And some of the old generation who were young and energetic when Kwaito evolved in the early 1990s, before giving way to new sounds such as Amapiano and hip hop, we were reminded of the fact that we were once young and thought dancing to kwaito sounds as we did at bashes, clubs and everywhere, was a cool thing to do. In fact, a few brave souls retraced their dance moves of yesteryear as they danced to the likes of Boom Shaka, Kalawa and Jahseed & Admiral.

I can tell you they thought they were still young and energetic, only to be disappointed by their ageing bodies. It was however nevertheless curious if not interesting to notice how some of the happy dancers honestly believed that they still had it in them, only to be disappointed by their sagging bodies, bodies that are inevitably getting tired and jaded by each passing year. The heart was there, but the body moved erratically, inconsistently, worn by years that have passed.

A life lived in post-Apartheid South Africa.  But because the music was so cool, it was worth a try anyway. Saturday at Constitution Hill was really filled with fun and lots of reconnecting with people one had last seen quite a long time ago, connected through this music festival, one of the few that are worth attending every year.

Basha Uhuru seems to get better every year, and one of the reasons I suspect, is because the festival in terms of the line up, taps nicely into our musical past, excavating the sounds that because of the evolving nature and character of South African music, for example from bubble gum to kwaito and to the current fuss of the moment Amapiano, we sometimes forget our rich musical past. 

And when that rich musical heritage is excavated by organisers who look back meticulously, excavating it and curating it nicely and put it up on a live music platform such as BashaUhuru, we even forget that the past is gone, and we are no longer teens as we hit the dance floor only for our unforgiving bodies to remind us that we are no longer that energetic. The teen years are long gone, replaced by our depleting body energies that remind us at the most inconvenient moments, such as during an iconic music festival such as BashaUhuru Freedom Music festival, that we are old. That we must take it easy, and leave the stage for the young and happening. Our hearts are still in the music of our youth.

I mean even our music icon of our time, such as Thembi Seete has moved on from being the min-skirt clad, and some would say hot performer, to being somehow conservative on stage, performing while wearing a suit. Yes, a suit, that by the way was suitable for her age. I mean she is no longer young and therefore curated her stage persona to suit her age. Her stage energy was great though. Junior Sokhelaas always did what he knows best with a voice that boomed beyond the walls of Constitution Hill to surrounding areas of Hillbrow, where in fact Boom Shaka’s music genesis is located. One member was missing though, and that is Lebo Mathosa whose life was cut short through a fatal car accident. The two remaining members took a good account of themselves though and in a way, representing their departed colleague well on that Saturday at Constitution Hill.

Being at Basha Uhuru Freedom Music festival was a great experience, and for some of us a travel down memory lane, watching performers that emerged during our time. Such as Boom Shaka and Jahseed & Admiral among others. WE missed Trompies, Alaska and Mdu Masilela to name but just a few of Kwaito artists of that time who defined the sound. It was cool to witness those that formed part of this line up from that period of Kwaito exuberance on the cusp of Freedom in the years leading to the attainment of freedom in 1994. Artists from that period maybe older now, but they still have a lot of entertainment power in them. The crowd simply embraced them as they danced the day and night away.

There were also DJs, including Maria McCloy, the arts and entertainment PR specialist, fashion designer and DJ, whose set, set the stage for a fashion parade, showcasing the latest designs by the country’s daring designers.

And so, this year’s Basha Uhuru Music festival was more than a music festival, but a platform for reconnecting with friends and for showcasing the latest designs as we danced to sounds from the past to the present. The past collided nicely with the present, setting the tone for the next music sound to emerge in South Africa after Amapiano, as per tradition of musical sound in this country. Just curious to know when and what will replace the current global craze of Amapiano though.

What an invigorating festival BashaUhuru Freedom Festival was this year.