I’ve been to see Johnny Clegg’s The Final Journey, and it was fantastic. I’m not going to spoil the show by giving specifics but he is as good as he ever was and there are some great surprises. If you weren’t planning to go (and if there are still tickets available), I really suggest you go. You don’t want to miss it.
The one possibly negative thing that I noticed was the diversity of the audience, or lack there-of. I think this is mostly a product of the venue as the previous performances I’ve been to were far more representative of the reality of our nation. It was entertaining to notice that this is the only situation where you will find a theater full of middle class white people singing in Zulu. It made me realise what a profound effect Johnny Clegg has had on the formation of our Rainbow Nation.
Johnny Clegg’s music did two very important things for our nation. He raised the profile of South Africa on the international stage. By educating the world about the Zulu culture and South African music, he highlighted the issues and injustice we faced.
Perhaps more importantly, he taught us about ourselves. He was (and is) an example of how our various cultures can come together to make something incredible that we couldn’t do separately. He is living proof that the rainbow nation is possible, that our differences don’t need to define us, that we all live under the same African sky blue.
Thank you, Johnny. I’m crushed that we won’t be seeing you on stage any more, but I’m glad that you got to do this tour at the top of your game.
The show was awesome.
You are inspiring.
Thank you.
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