The first Mother City Live Arts Experience took place last weekend in Rosebank, Cape Town. The line-up was a mixed bag of well-known and up-and-coming Capetonian musicians like Uno July, FonZo, E-Jay, Native Drums, Michale Jacobs and more. A few artists from outside South Africa were also on the roster. Here are five artists whose performances I liked on the night.
Deslynn
Not only does Deslynn have a soulful voice but her style is colourful and fresh. She seemed to be at home on stage as she took us through some tracks from her self-titled EP. Be sure to check her out her Soundcloud page.
Ethan Young
The handsome Ethan Young, captured the attention of the mostly female audience by serenading them with his smooth voice. He reminds me of John Legend and Bruno Mars. His debut album, Sweet Talk and Complements, will be released next year.
Silas Miami
The Nairobi-born, Cape Town-based musician blew me away with his infectious aura. Not only that, but we were all singing along by the end of the show. At some point in his performance he joined the audience in dance. Check out his latest single called “Give a little love” below.
Tehn Diamond
This Zimbabwean-born artist set the stage on fire and had everyone on their feet. He was energetic and definitely gave the performance everything he had. He even took off his shirt and showed us his six pack. You can catch his latest music on his SoundCloud page.
Tehn Diamond also made our list of 7 African rappers you should stop sleeping on. Peep the list here.
FonZo
I had heard many things about FonZo before I saw him live, but nothing had prepared me for what I saw on stage. He dropped smooth raps, which had heads bobbin’ and hips swaying in the crowd. The man knows what he is doing and clearly he lived up to the hype. Listen to his latest EP Vol. 1: The Return Of The Boss Don below.
Images: Shina Mphahlele
