24 Aug 2014

Following the much publicised row involving South African musical outfit, Freshlyground and the Hamptons Promoters over the non-attendance of the group at the Hamptons Jazz Festival on March 15 at Duma grounds, the two camps have now reached a common ground.

On September 5, fans of FreshlyGround will get the chance to see the group live at Botswanacraft supported by local hip hop artiste A.T.I.

Speaking in an interview, Hamptons Promoters representative, David Letshwiti said initially Freshlyground failed to show up for the Hamptons Jazz Festival and they engaged with their representatives afterwards to try and remedy the situation.

“I would like to state that the contracts that artistes signed for that previous show had a clause in it stating that any artiste/group who does not show up for their performances will compensate us,” he said.
He indicated that they sat down with representatives of Freshlyground and had fruitful discussions culminating in the group agreeing to a performance on September 5.

Letshwiti said fans of Freshlyground should look forward to the lead singer’s high octane performance.
“Zolani is a talented individual and has an outstanding voice, which has mesmerised audiences the world over,” he said.

Tickets, which are limited in mnumber, are sold at P270 and have gone on sale at Botswanacraft since August 19.

Speaking about next year’s Hamptons Jazz Festival, Mr Letshwiti said he is disturbed by the attitude of some people who criticised them when they postponed this year’s festival to March due to bad weather.

“People need to understand that we are in a risky business and some of these things are totally out of our control,” he said, adding that next year’s Hamptons Jazz Festival will be bigger and better.

He also spoke of his concern regarding multiple shows that take place around the same time.
“My wish is for us to work together as promoters so that we both win. Remember Son of the Soil was around the same time as our Jazz festival and both of us are basically targeting the same audience,” he said.

He indicated that they would have a proper sit down with the organisers of Son of The Soil this year to see how they can co-exist and at the same time support each other for the benefit of both camps.

“There is absolutely no point in having multiple shows around the same time targeting the same type of audience because we both lose if we insist. We need to work together,” he said.
Letshwiti urged promoters to work together to build beneficial collaborations.  ENDS