Conceived in 2023 with the dream of not only becoming a major Zimbabwean festival but a recognised event regionally, the 263 Culture Festival has constantly been striving to outdo itself. Festival ownership might have changed hands in between the years but the goal has continued to feel the same. The previous year is the bar, and 263 Culture Fest sees itself as Armaund Duplantis.
For it's debut edition it had a lineup that seemed too good to be true, this was the same story last year, and even this weekend it still seemed ridiculous that we would be getting acts of such calibar (How big are those checks from NetOne?). From Belgravia Sports Club in 2024, the festival switched to Thorn Park Polo Club for this year's edition.
This held the promise of more space and easier parking, but while delivering on the latter it fell far short on the former. The stage was grand, as in if Mt Pleasant was under loadshedding you could probably have seen it from space.
While that part of the setup was perfect for purpose, the festival grounds left a lot to be desired. Half the festival field was cordoned off for the VIP section, yet the VIP tent itself was only a tiny fraction of the space (Haaa musadaro). The end result was that it felt like we were wildebeest on the Serengeti. However the vibes were often strong enough to forget that your personal space was being constantly invaded.
The afternoon's expectant atmosphere was greeted by Vele Vele and DJ Iroq. It was long before sunset but hundreds had gathered and more kept trickling in each moment (as the saying goes, the early bird avoids paying corkage). Atenda Chinx gave the festival it's pop moment as the afternoon waned, but it was Wowrae and Tannie Swiss' sets that truly gave proceedings the spark they needed - a nagging thought keeps saying that since they were both there they really should've given us a performance as Skyroot.
The curation felt a bit chaotic (as it always is for them) but somehow they still got the best out of every single performer. What would've been 6 hours of uninterrupted house music had a Nisha Ts interlude in the early evening and a moment for hip hop right at the peak of the night.
A-Reece had his Harare debut to a piano crowd but that didn't throw him off in the least. We raced across his discography with "On My Own," "We Both Know Better," "Couldn't," "Sweatshop Freestyle," "Meanwhile In Honeydew," "Paradise," "Zimbali" (flipped to Zimbabwe) and "Mgani." Punctuated by acapella versions of his greatest hits, the performance was well worth the wait for Reece fans.
The brilliance of Nash TV as a label was fully on show as their marquee artists, Nisha Ts and Saintfloew each delivered a captivating showcase. Saintfloew's stellar showcase was topped off by bringing out Julian King for a rendition of "One by One," before walking off to "Wicked Weekend." If there were still doubts (none from me, I saw him at the I Love Mbare Festival and it was even better than this) about him being one of the best performers in the country, this surely ended it.
DJ Kent was the first international act to hit the stage and although it was only 6 pm he didn't hold back. He entranced with Caiiro's "Ndisize," Michel Cleis' "La Mezcla," Dlala Thukzin's "Ama Gear," Young Dumza's "Uzizwa Kanjan 2.0," and the very best of his own catalogue with such selections as "Spin My World," and "Horns In The Sun." All underlied by an intimate understanding of rhythm and tempo that felt almost beyond normal human hearing.
De Mthuda was equally a class act, and although delivering a different piano soundscape, he was just as deft as Kent. He dived deep into his catalogue (arguably one of best in amapiano) pulling out the likes of "iThuba," "Jola," "Weekend Aziwe," "Ebumnandi," and "John Wick." By the time we were singing out "Sgud Sync," we were thoroughly satisfied.
Now although Major League DJz might've lost the weight, they've certainly not lost the touch. They were so good I got pissed off all over again at Rimo for what he did to us in 2021. Currently answering the calling of 3-step house, they delivered infectious tunes that called on the crowd to dance. It was none of their hits of old but damn it was still so good. As "Tholukhuti" blared out and League adjusted knows on the decks, Major had us on a marionette's cross, clapping in unison to the rhythm.
Ciza came on just before the final act of the night, and it was to genuine surprise that he first graced the decks (Is everyone in South Africa a DJ?). I was unfamiliar with his game but that's a good DJ. He had grittier sounding 3-step selections but he maintained the crowd's energy, signed off by taking to the mic and giving us a performance of "Isaka" before signing out.
Kabza De Small and DJ Maphorisa gave us a performance worthy of the kings they are (to be that in synch during a B2B set is not a simple thing). As hitmakers who understand their own music as noone else could, they swayed us in emotion and song. Simply euphoric. "Abantwana Bakho," "Asibe Happy," "Abalele," "Ngyozama," "Imithandazo," with the exclamation point on the night being Maphorisa taking to the mic as Madumane, and what an entertainer.
Moozlie had been an amazing host (truly amazing), not only MCing but giving us a fashion show (through her several wardrobe changes) that celebrated multiple Zimbabwean designers.
The stage saw the best it probably could on the night, and the sound was worthy of the show artists put on, even though the curation was terrible (DJ Kent at 6 but Ciza at 11?). I've long been a hater of hay bales at festivals but I'll take them over bean bags. They took up too much space (the VIP took even more) and popped when people kept stepping on them to get by (I've still got stuff from them stuck in my wheels). It was the time of our lives but also a trying experience
BIRD5NEST's bao buns were phenomenal (we need you guys at every festival) and Rocomamas was serving up the most wonderful burgers (they don't usually taste that good at the restaurant), but by 6 pm we had stalls running out of food and it was all due to bad policy by 263 Culture Fest (outlets couldn't go to their refrigerated vehicles for resupply). Something so simple.
A further reflection from the event is that we now need to divide the festival grounds into specific areas, so we can not only find our friends easily but also have pathways to move about (Saturday yanga ingori sorry wangu, sorry wangu, sorry wangu). Spilt the field into 4 areas, the yellow painted technical cabling is already a no sitting area, add a corridor across to split the grounds into four and everyone can move about better.
So there it is, it was the time of our lives, but yet not so much. Unbelievable but also not quite.
Greedysouth rating: 7.3/10
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