CELEBRATE YOUTH DAY IN DURBAN: UPFRONT WITH ZAKES BANTWINI

This Youth Day Durban will be treated to the annual performance extraordinaire that is Upfront with Zakes Bantwini. Now in it’s third year, this spectacular production takes place at The Playhouse Company on June 16th. Zakes Bantwini will be performing tracks from his latest album The Fake Book & Real Book: My Music Bible live for the first time, with special guest performances by Judith Sephuma, Liquideep, iFani, Bucie and Khaya Mthethwa.

Sponsored by Mxit, the South African mobile social network, this year’s Upfront with Zakes Bantwini is a tribute to Nelson Mandela and 20 years of democracy. “I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Youth Day and the journey our country has travelled over the last 20 years,” says Bantwini. “I’m honoured to share the stage with such talented artists to pay tribute to South Africa’s transformation.”

This year’s fitting tribute, also supported by The Playhouse, an agency of the Department of Arts and Culture, follows the previous two year’s sell-out performances that paid tribute to Sophiatown in 2012, and to the youth with a special focus on education in 2013.

The platinum selling artist and producer is the face of Mxit’s new marketing campaign as well as the Mxit Music Studio app – a unique opportunity for fans to engage with artists and access free music downloads. “We want to share the best local music talent with young people on the move via the Music Studio app”, says Mxit’s Marketing and Communications Manager, Ben-Carl Havemann. “Sponsoring Upfront with Zakes Bantwini was the perfect alliance given Mxit’s aim to support and share home-grown talent”.

Bantwini plans to pull out all the stops for this year’s Upfront with Zakes Bantwini so fans can expect a creative showcase of entertainment. With highlights from his latest studio multiple award nominated album The Fake Book & Real Book: My Music Bible, which launched in November 2013, along with well-loved Bantwini classics, this one-night only show is not-to-be-missed.

Tickets from R150 at Computicket.

* Upfront with Zakes Bantwini starts promptly at 19h30 on 16th June 2014 at the Playhouse Company, Durban

* For show updates and further information follow Zakes Bantwini on Twitter @ZakesBantwiniSA, on Facebook.com/ZakesBantwiniOfficial or you can download the Zakes Bantwini app on m.mxit.com and visit the app store

* The Mxit Music Studio app line-up includes Mafikizolo, iFani, Khuli Chana, Euphonik, AKA, Liquideep, The Kiffness, Toya DeLazy and is fronted by the local ‘King of House Music’, Zakes Bantwini. Mxit users* can add the Mxit Music Studio app, which features an artist every week, and find pages packed with profiles, photos, interviews and video shout outs. At the end of each featured artist’s week, 5’000 downloads of their single is made available to Mxit users free of charge (on a first-come first-serve basis). *The Mxit Music Studio app is not available on IOS devices