From one man’s dream to an inspiration for a nation, the music of South Africa’s Ladysmith Black Mambazo has been a source of strength and comfort for many.
The group, which will perform on July 6 and 7 at Payomet Performing Arts Center in North Truro, was founded by Joseph Shabalala during the apartheid period. Albert Mazibuko, an original member of Ladysmith Black Mambazo, recalls how the choral group came to be.
‘Joseph, when he came to me, he said he had a dream for six months, the same dream every night. He dreamed those people were singing for him and they were singing in a way he never heard before,’ Mazibuko says, speaking by phone from Durban, South Africa.