WINDHOEK: Ras Sheehama’s three decades of music tribute show was brought to life last weekend under the creative direction of Othilia Mungoba.
The concert featured a stunning lineup filled with electrifying performances from multiple celebrated art forms integrating all forms of the creative industry into one setting, a first of its kind show.
The depiction paid homage to the life and contribution of Namibian musician and performer Ras Sheehama. The project involved close to 30 Namibian creatives from multi-disciplines such as visual and performing artists.
In an interview with Nampa on Tuesday, Mungoba reflected: ‘We really took Ras Sheehama’s songs and did renditions of those songs, a show like this has never been done. We took all the different aspects of performing and creative arts and placed them all on one stage.’
The show featured a visual integration aspect where those who were unable to physically attend could tap in virtually. The virtual integration allowed people to buy online tickets that al
lowed them to experience the show via livestream.
‘We made history but we did not make a profit, which is quite disheartening. We knew that on the first night, we had two to three other events happening on the same night with a similar fan base, but we were not swayed and we pulled through for the next day,’ said Mungoba.
She further shared that they pulled out all the stops when it came to promoting the concert, a sentiment that was shared by one fan who was in attendance at the show. Mind Ngombe popularly known as ‘Mr Mind’, a gospel artist, told Nampa in an interview on Wednesday that for the celebrated icon that is Ras Sheehama, he expected a bigger turnout at the concert.
Ngombe said he believes the concert had such a low turnout because uniquely Namibian music genre’s barely have a market in the country, with many people choosing to rather popularise music genres from other countries.
‘Namibia needs to have an identity, it needs space in the international arena, people should be able to pinpoint Nam
ibian music when it is played anywhere.’
Source: The Namibia Press Agency