The City of uMhlathuze has today officially launched the Soul Jazz Experience music festival featuring world renowned legendary musicians Chris Walker and Regina Belle.
This first of its kind in the northern KwaZulu-Natal international Jazz Festival is long awaited by music lovers and fun patrons in different corners of the country. The festival is part of the Escape Winter Campaign coined by the City of uMhlathuze aimed at attracting tourists and travelers to spend their winter in the Sizzle City known for its warm weather throughout the year.
This music festival comes with enamours packs for different sectors of people in the city. It has already started to contribute to our local economic development through the use of local SMMEs for logistical services especially in marketing and advertising the event. A sizable number of informal traders are being trained to ensure that they maximise on the opportunity presented by the event. Tourism establishments such as BnBs and hotels are already being reserved, which translates to a generation of revenue for the City of uMhlathuze.
Most critical on the staging of the International Jazz Festival is leaving the legacy behind especially with local artist’s empowerment. The international legends will share the stage with South African National figures in jazz such as Zonke Dikana, Sjava, Brenda Mntambo, Brian Thusi and many others. Moreover, patrons will also have a taste of live performances of locally brewed musicians who are on the sharp rise such as Zethe who won the Vodacom Next Level national competition, Thami Shobede and Thamsanqa Mathonsi for Idols fame.
“We have already conducted auditions this past Sunday and a panel of music experts selected 6 local up and coming artists who will showcase their talent in the festival. For us as the City of uMhlathuze this opportunity is more than enjoying jazz music but it’s about empowering our communities, small business people and a bigger picture is positioning the City of uMhlathuze as an international events destination in the northern coastal part of KwaZulu-Natal. Our mission is to drive foreign direct investment and to attract tourists from all over the world. This music platform gives us a good launch pad for all our drives to reclaim our space as the third largest GDP contributors in KwaZulu-Natal,” said Mayor Mduduzi Mhlongo.
The City of uMhlathuze working with the organisers Yonke Imizamo Productions and all strategic partner to ensure that the event is a success and all patrons leave with the experience they will never forget.
Tickets are already on sale at Computicket at the following categories:
GENERAL: R400
GOLDEN CIRCLE: R500
VIP: R1700
NOTE THAT THESE TICKETS ARE APPLICABLE FOR TWO DAYS!