Volume 65 December 2026-January 2026 : Art & Culture
Young journos Jazz It up- Part 2
Author : Faith Mothelesi
Duma Grounds was the place to bring back all that jazzy feel. The annual Hamptons Jazz Festival gathering has become more of a reunion - a celebration with friends, family, culture, music, and a way of life for Batswana.
The festival, which takes place in Gaborone, usually runs between February and March every year.
Each year sees a variety of Jazz musicians, well appreciated by Batswana and the travelling discerning jazz patrons. The event is the brainchild of Debbie Makabe Smith and Starr Ngwenya.
It focuses on music but spreads its wings far beyond the conventional definition of a festival, instead immersing its Hamptonettes fans into an euphoria of joy and happiness. The event allows people to revel in cultural refinement, whilst relaxing and going about enjoying music.
The festival aims to be representative of a historic moment in which Botswana is seen as the destination for Jazz intellectuals.
This year the festival was celebrating three years of existence with our own Botswana headliners, Women of Jazz, which is a group of three ladies who have stage experience both locally and internationally.
The show started on a low note transiting into exciting extremes. Our own Trinity came all fiery as the first act on stage pitching the standard high for both artists and revellers.
One may wonder why jazz musicians mostly dress in African prints and different cultural wear - they bring back old memories of pleasure and ancient histories of pain in Africa.
The second act brought nothing but emotional attachment to the revellers who stood transfixed since it was the first time they had seen him live on stage.
Nathi, famously known for his Nomvula hit song, left the stage tattered as he went on to perform with the king of falsetto, Vusi Nova.
It is truly a blessing to be African. In an interview, Nathi explains his song, Buyelekhaya, talks about his mother who raised them as a single parent after their father reneged on his promise to keep on sending them money while he worked in the mines.
“It is a song to appreciate all the mothers who raised their children alone and I advise the tatas (fathers) to come back home,” he pleads.
Never to disappoint, artists brought all flavours of the Hamptons in fashion, dance and presence. Our own Women of Jazz continued to light the stage with their Botswana jazz music as revellers sang along and no doubt, young, vibrant and full of energy are their middle names.
“It is a blessing to be part of the event three years in a row and to see that Batswana indeed know our music by heart….truly we are humbled,” says Punah Gabasiane, a Women of Jazz member.