Baloyi backs jazz gig at Sandton

IT'S safety over ambience.

Musician Wanda Baloyi is one of those happy that the annual music jamboree returns to Sandton for the second year this month after she became a victim of crime in the city centre.

The festival called Newtown in downtown Joburg its home for some 16 years before it was moved to swanky Sandton last year.

"I was mugged twice in Johannesburg. The one time I was coming from a gig and a guy came to my car as I was opening the door to get in.

"The second [incident] was at a traffic robot while on the phone, people came and mugged me," she said.

Critics of the move to Sandton have complained that the suburb lacks ambience and that it is exhausting to go up and down stairs and lifts to see the acts on the different stages at the Sandton International Convention Centre.

Baloyi counters: "Change is never easy. The adjustment phase is never easy, but it's much safer here in Sandton than in Newtown because there's better and safer parking."

Mantwa Chinoamadi, the producer of the festival, said they listened to gripes from last year. She said they would introduce stretch tents and add some ambience.

Chinoamadi spoke to the Sowetan after City of Joburg Mayor Parks Tau launched Heritage Month at the Joburg Theatre in Braamfontein yesterday. The mayor said: "September is, since the post-apartheid era, a month when we celebrate our cultural diversity." The city will this month host the Arts Alive, Moshito Music Conference and the Joy of Jazz.

Baloyi will perform with her father Jaco Maria (of Ozila fame) for the first time at the concert taking place in three weeks.

"He's fantastic. I look up to him as an artist. He is one of the best in the country, you should get to see him and you'll understand," said Baloyi.

tiwaneb@timesmedia. co.za