Top music groups have signed contracts to perform at the Maun Festival at the end of April. They include “Dikakapa”, Botswana's most powerful traditional group (pictured) , local performers “Galephirime” (traditional), “Remuda” (rock) and "Mr Thapson" (guitar folk), and “Banjo Mosele and the Veterans”.  Desmond Green, the festival organiser, said the event was destined to be “the finest music and cultural celebration to be held in the country. “Top acts in four popular music genres will be catered for in a festival of music lasting 22 hours over the Labour Day weekend of April 30-May 2.

“Jazz, rock, traditional and popular African contemporary music performances will be held at the open-air stage at the Sedia Riverside Hotel in Maun on May 1 and 2.”  Seventeen acts are due to perform, and Green added: “It is our intention to provide a vehicle for the growth, promotion and development of art, music and culture, and as the Maun Festival grows, so the variety of performers and performances will grow.

Speaking from Norway, Banjo Mosele confirmed that his group, “Banjo Mosele and the Veterans” had signed a contract to play at the Maun Festival on May 2. Mosele, guitarist, singer and composer, was born at Kanye and is a founder member of the “Kalahari Band”, a group that backed South African star Hugh Masekela in the early 1980s. He has worked as a session musician with Jonas Gwangwa, Peter Gabriel and Barney Rachabane, and formed and led the “Bushmen Don't Surf” group that made a name for itself in the United Kingdom performing at various festivals, including the Glastonbury festival.

Article from The Ngami Times March 13-20, 2009