IsiXhosa radio station celebrates 63 years on air
Celebrating 63 years on the airwaves, award-winning isiXhosa radio station Umhlobo Wenene FM will launch its inaugural Impolo Yabahlobo (Chill Session with Friends) Family Day in East London tomorrow.
The event will include a talk by host Tsidi Monteiro, who will give listeners advice on love, as well as an array of choral, jazz, worship music and educational programmes.
Former Umhlobo Wenene DJ KCI will likely have listeners in stitches with his skits.
The Impolo Yabahlobo Family Day will be held at the Buffalo Park Cricket Stadium from 10am to 7pm, with tickets available via TicketPro.
The event will be hosted by some of Umhlobo Wenene’s top DJs, including Mafa Bavuma, Lusanda Mbane, Amaza Ntshanga, Babe-Zee and Blaq Maci.
Eastern Cape SABC business manager Loyiso Bala, recalling his earliest and fondest memories of the radio station, said the station had always been a large part of his family while growing up.
“My earliest memory of Umhlobo Wenene is of me and my family, every day at 8pm, listening to “ibali” [a story] just like Generations: The Legacy.
“I remember it was so scary; I actually thought the story was true. Every day you would want to know what was going to happen.
“We would also listen to the top-ranked songs on Saturdays and we would turn the volume up so everyone could hear the music while we were cleaning the house.
“When I was seven, my voice was recorded for a gospel show on Saturdays and that was my introduction to working in radio,” Bala said.
The line-up of artists will include Vusi Nova, song of the year Metro FM winner Betusile, Nathi, Ntando, Ayanda Jiya, Deep London, London Roots SA and many others.
On the decks, the station DJs are Pastor the DJ, Slyso, Luckeez Mfowethu, Luks Gidane and Elvis.
Umhlobo Wenene has won several awards over the years.
Sharing just a little of what he believed to be the secret to the radio station’s success, Bala said at its core the station stuck true to its brand promise of “Unomhlobo mhlobo” (You have a friend, my friend).
“We have a 55% listenership from the Eastern Cape and we also have a big listenership in KwaZulu-Natal.
“We want our listeners to feel cared for and listened to.
“Through evolving times, statistics showed that our listeners were gravitating towards social media platforms and podcasts.
“We then moved into those platforms.
“We decided to host the celebration in East London because it is central and will allow people from Gqeberha or Mthatha to celebrate with us,” Bala said.
He said as a family radio station they decided to make the event family friendly with a children’s entertainment area, meet-and-greet sessions with presenters, and food and drink stalls.