Mohalenyane Phakela
ALL roads will lead on Friday to the annual all-night music extravaganza, Vodacom Summa Feva, at Setsoto Stadium.
Dubbed the festival of the year, the Vodacom Summa Feva has grown in stature to become one of Lesotho’s premier festivals and an eagerly awaited event that sets the tone for the festive season.
It was launched in 2007 by Vodacom Lesotho (VCL) to thank the telecommunications giant’s customers for their support. The festival is renowned for its line-up of both local and international acts which have attracted massive turnouts of revellers from both Lesotho and abroad.
This year, the festival will be headlined by American House music group, Tortured Soul. The New York-based live house-music group comprises Ethan White on keys and backing vocals, John-Christian Urich on drums and lead vocals, and bassist Jason Kriveloff.
Vodacom Summa Feva also boasts a stellar line-up that includes South Africa’s Black Coffee, Black Motion, Oskido, Shimza, DBN Nytz, Uhuru, DJ Zinhle, DJ Milkshake, Zola, Khuli Chana, Okmalumkoolkat, Ab Crazy and Ba2cada. The local contingent includes DJ Ebonix, Nine24, Bootz, Vesta, Linah, Kopper, Dee Pee, Harris T, Afro DJ, J-Cob, OGM, Kopano the First, MIP, Converse Heroes and, for the first time, dancehall and reggae group Ragga Vybz.
According to Vodacom Lesotho Senior Marketing Specialist, Sekonyela Matamane, all is set for the “festival of the year”, with security beefed up to ensure the safety of revelers and artists.
“We always invite various stakeholders in the security sector, be it public and privately-owned. Last year, the army provided security for the first time and this year we will also have the police Special Operations Unit,” Matamane told the Weekender this week.
“Our goal is to ensure thieves don’t even think of stealing anything. However, we still urge revellers to always be careful.”
He said since the objective of the festival is to thank VCL customers for their unwavering support, the artists were lined-up in response to fan requests.
“The festival is all about appreciating our customers who always support us, therefore we always look for artists they like and those they dream of watching perform live since they mostly see them on television,” Matamane said.
“For us, it is not a matter of where the artists come from but about what appeals to our customers. Our intention is not to make local artists feel inferior to foreign acts as they all know that we have a number of projects directed at uplifting them such as the Vodacom Superstars and other campaigns.”
He said they negotiated with artists they book bearing in mind the resources at their disposal.
“A large chunk of our budget is devoted to hiring the equipment needed to make the festival a success. We actually do not have a budget for artists, so we book anyone we feel should be on the lineup,” said Matamane.
Local artists, he said, should not demand high appearance fees merely because foreign acts are doing the same.
“It all depends on the merits of each individual artist. We also do not understand why local acts charge lower fees throughout the year at different events but tend to demand much more when it comes to Summa Feva,” Matamane said.
