Zuko SA, Ayanda Ntanzi blown away by exuberant Bay crowd
hit maker Zuko SA, and Basuka singer Ayanda Ntanzi were blown away by the crowd at the Healing Gospel & Afro Soul Explosion concert in Gqeberha at the weekend and vowed to return to the city soon.
The concert, staged at a sold-out Athenaeum on Friday night, was recorded by gospel TV channel One Gospel.
The organiser, Sandla Black owner Siya Marwanqa, said the event was funded by the National Arts Council to the tune of R250,000.
Afro-soul singer Zuko SA grew up in Mthatha and after completing his matric relocated to Johannesburg to focus on being an independent artist.
This was the second time he had performed in Gqeberha.
“Performing here is home for me, because of the reception that I get from the people.
“You can feel that they have been longing for me to come back home since I am in Johannesburg most of the time,” Zuko SA said.
The singer encouraged people to never give up, explaining how he wrote Qhawe lam during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
“Criminals broke into my studio, they stole everything.
“That was a depressing time because they stole the source of my bread and butter.
“I had to go home to regain my strength before I could return to Johannesburg.
“Both my parents are pastors. I did not know that was God’s plan for me to go home.”
Ntanzi, who was performing for the first time at a concert in the Bay, said he was left in awe at how warm and interactive the people were.
“The people of Gqeberha were amazing.”
Buffalo City Praise Encounter also performed at the concert.
Marwanqa also praised the Ebubeleni Music Festival team for supporting him.
“We change artists annually to bring something different and current,” he said of the concert, which was first staged in the city last year. The Real Housewives of Gqeberha cast member Norma Nicol, who was in the audience, described the evening as “soul-filling”.