The Barbosa Experience played the classic Brenda Fassie song, “Nomakanjani” over the weekend at Oppikoppi 2018. The original song was is the inspiration for this year’s festival theme.
I’ve known Pedro Barbosa (the lead vocalist of The Barbosa Experience) since 2000 (when I was still living in Sunnyside in Pretoria). There’s no doubt in my mind that Pedro loves African music – something that was very clear even way back then.
I still remember hanging out with him at his flat in Arcadia and at our youth hostel in Sunnyside while he was studying music at the Contemporary Music College (in Silverton, Pretoria).
Pedro was born and raised in Mozambique and has been living in South Africa for almost 20 years. He’s one of the hardest working musicians in the capital city. He plays solo gigs at venues like Diep In die Berg, Jack Fridays and Malt and also jams at venues all over Gauteng with his band, The Barbosa Experience. They’ve also jammed at festivals like Park Acoustics and Mieliepop.
I watched The Barbosa Experience’s first ever set at Oppikoppi on Friday and I have to say that it was definitely one of the highlights of this year’s festival. The vibe was amazing. If you don’t believe me, check out the video below featuring the band’s version of Brenda Fassie’s “Nomakanjani” below.
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Curious about what else happened over the weekend? I will be posting my full Oppikoppi Nomakanjani review later this week, so watch this space. If you want to hear more music from The Barbosa Experience, stream their music on Spotify.
I hope that those of you who attended this year’s festival are recovering nicely and that you are not too heavily affected by the Post-Oppikoppi Blues.
Watch this space for updates in the Music Videos category on Running Wolf’s Rant.
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