New teen band set for stardom

The New Afro Teens are so mature musically it is hard to imagine that they are just teenagers

AFTER conquering their home town with their dose of music, Port Elizabeth teenage group New Afro Teens is now set to conquer the national stage.

They will first share the stage with internationally renowned bassist George Benson, local group Freshlyground, Goldfish and the evergreen Hugh Masekela.

The stage is set for the group to win more followers when big guns come into their backyard for a jazz festival at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on May 14.

The festival is organised by Rashid Lombard, who is renowned for staging the Cape Town International Jazz Festival.

New Afro Teens has a special relationship with Masekela.

The group has even featured him in one of their songs on their latest album.They have also shared the stage with a number of international acts.

The concept of Afro Teens has been around since the 1970s but no group has ever recorded an album.

Most teenage groups have only played cover versions of popular songs.

But this group of 10 teenagers, with an average age of 17, has gone further.

They recently blew away Canadian singer Justin Hines, with whom they shared the stage during the Splash Festival in Port Elizabeth.

Apparently the Canadians were initially worried about Hines sharing the stage with a bunch of teenagers, but the group had a pleasant surprise for him.

They set up for rehearsals at the SABC studios a day before Hines arrived.

On Hines' arrival the teenagers allegedly belted out one of his new songs - Come Around.

They apparently spiced it up with a distinctly African reggae flavour for good measure and Hines was overawed.

The group apparently learnt seven of Hines' songs. The Canadian was allegedly even more impressed when the band played his songs.

This promises to be a good year for this group of teenagers, who have to juggle their daily lives between school and rehearsals.

Later this year they will wow thousands of music lovers who are expected to flock to Johannesburg for the Joy of Jazz Festival, which could catapult them to even greater heights.

The New Afro Teens are so mature musically it is hard to imagine that they are just teenagers.

They have become hugely popular in Port Elizabeth and are booked out every weekend.

Perhaps this is the right moment for them to share their music with audiences elsewhere in the country.

Hopefully the nation will embrace them and their music.