Nomfusi
“Her voice is bigger than mine, but she’s smaller than my trumpet. The last time we invited her she stole the show from us.” – Hugh Masekela
With a voice rich in emotional vulnerability, and nimble power, Nomfusi conquers every stage and every heart. She tackles complex and culturally urgent topics in originals that shimmer with maskandi guitar flourishes and soaring melodies, while hinting at everything from house to ‘70s jazz to funk.
As singer-songwriter, performer and band leader, Nomfusi is most often called out for her fearless high-watt delivery and high style. As a song-writer, her originals communicate directly, viscerally. She knows who she is, where she’s come from, where we should be headed (spiritually, emotionally, righteously), and she’s coming to take us all there.
Nomfusi’s music has made her a standout in Europe and the African continent from the Lugano Jazz Festival to Morocco’s Timitar, to WOMAD in the U.K, and Canada’s Roots & Blues. More than 10,000 attended her July 2022 show at Germany’s Bardentreffen, broadcast live.
Nomfusi’s 2023 U.S. debut tour as part of Center Stage will showcase her full rep, including her most recent album The Red Stoep (The Red Stoop) – a most welcoming front porch for us to meet.
Nomfusi invites us all to join her in her observations of life and to share her devotion to her lineage (Xhosa clicks) and her belief in the possibilities of merging roots sounds - irresistible maskandi guitars, keyboard grooves and township rhythms.
U.S. debut with center stage in 2023
Background
Soul Advocate: South Africa’s Nomfusi Sings with Powerful Vulnerability
A petite but mighty vocal force, the songwriter and dynamic performer is poised to win over American audiences with first U.S. tour.
South Africa’s Nomfusi knows how to conquer every stage and heart. With a voice rich in emotional vulnerability and nimble power, Nomfusi writes and sings from her experience, as a woman and as a child of a South African township. Her music flows from her homeland, shimmering with maskandi guitar flourishes and soaring melodies, while hinting at everything from house to '70s jazz to funk.
A rising star who played the legendary Miriam Makeba in a 2014 feature film, who’s won nominations for South Africa’s biggest music awards, opened for Lionel Richie, and earned praise from icons including Hugh Masekela, Nomfusi is a fresh voice to Americans. Though a seasoned touring artist who’s played extensively across southern Africa and Europe, Nomfusi has never played in the U.S., despite many Americans’ appreciation of the Xhosa language and music that shapes her work.
Nomfusi’s bright, open-eared music sprang from a challenging start. As a girl growing up in the Eastern Cape township of KwaZakhele, eventually orphaned due to HIV/AIDS, Nomfusi fought hard to find her own way. As an artist, she’s unafraid to tackle emotionally complex and culturally urgent topics all filtered through her unique perspective. She’s distilled these insights into several critically acclaimed albums of catchy, moving songs in English and Xhosa, including her latest The Red Stoep, dedicated to stories of her hometown.
Story is where it starts for Nomfusi, but connection with new audiences is her ultimate aim: “Music adds the emotion to the story; it adds the feeling. What’s the use otherwise?” she reflects. “The emotion makes the story stick. I can tell the story of losing my mom but when it’s music, you reach your end goal, pity or hope, and keep it memorable. You get people to relate to the loss or the grief in that story, or to the joy or desire.”
Petite Powerhouse
“This tiny sunshine has made 1,000 people dance in the rain.” —Oldenburger (Germany) News
Nomfusi revels in the alchemy of live performance, those moments that turn a room filled with random strangers into a profound shared experience. “I love being on stage. It’s a sort of ecstasy, an a-ha for me. Everything else doesn’t matter because this moment is so beautiful and fulfilling, so pure,” Nomfusi explains. “For me personally, music is when I speak my mind, my heart and I am heard. I think we all want our voices to be heard.“
Nomfusi is hard not to listen to, with a voice that packs a punch in one moment then tenderly unwinds a sinuous, heartfelt statement the next. Though many collaborators (Masekela included) like to refer to her small stature, her powerful instrument hooks audiences from the first breath, making her a larger-than-life performer capable of dominating large festival stages and reaching people far from her birthplace.
Dancing a New Picture of South Africa
Movement is an essential part of Nomfusi’s performances and dance runs through every song. “Dancing is part of my culture,” she says. “I grew up being the child asked to dance. We express ourselves through dance and dance influences the music, whether that dance is hip hop or ballroom. Dance paints a better picture of the song and the melody.”
Dance and music come from the people who define a place, and these people inspire Nomfusi’s songwriting and movement on stage: “The place boils down to the people. And at the bottom of it all, it's the people that I draw inspiration from. I’ve been so lucky to have an open mind by experiencing a lot of different places and people and cultures in the world. I draw so much inspiration from everyone, from the poorest to the most affluent people.”
All these people contribute to South Africa’s many cultures and communities, an aspect of her homeland Nomfusi wants the world to hear. I mix soul, traditional, jazz, and that includes both African and Cape Town jazz. There’s house music, the biggest musical export of South Africa. I also love showcasing the traditional side of music, how I grew up, the drum beat and the dances, the way you lift your legs. It’s all different flavors and you can taste a different spice. It’s all beautiful in its own rite.”
2023 Program Notes
Nomfusi
Johannesburg, South Africa
U.S. Debut Tour
Nomfusi – lead vocals / songwriter / band leader
Mark Williams – guitar / backing vocals / musical director
Mbulelo Sabata Mtshanthsa ‘Sabata’ – bass guitar
Sibusiso Baloyi– drums
Ezra Erasmus – keyboard
Motswe Promise Tshepo ‘Congwero’ – percussion
Fumane Moeketsi ‘Fufu’ – backing vocals
Madibelesi Mpho Bodibe ‘Pho’ – backing vocals
Powerhouse vocalist-songwriter Nomfusi leads her 7-piece band from Johannesburg, South Africa, in originals that sing, soar, and shimmer.
About Nomfusi
Hailing from Johannesburg, South Africa, Nomfusi is a mighty vocal force poised to win over American audiences with her debut U.S. tour.
With a voice rich in emotional vulnerability, and nimble power, Nomfusi conquers every stage and every heart with her fearless high-watt delivery and high style. A singer-songwriter, performer, and band leader, she tackles complex and culturally urgent topics in originals that shimmer with maskandi guitar flourishes and soaring melodies, while hinting at everything from house to ‘70s jazz to funk. Potent, playful, and direct, Nomfusi knows who she is, where she’s come from, where we should be headed (spiritually, emotionally, righteously), and she’s coming to take us all there.
“Nomfusi invites us all to join her in her observations of life and to share her devotion to her lineage (Xhosa clicks) and her belief in the possibilities of merging roots sounds - irresistible maskandi guitars, keyboard grooves and township rhythms.” – Songlines, review of Nomfusi’s ‘The Red Stoep’
Nomfusi is a seasoned touring artist who’s performed extensively across Africa and Europe, from the Lugano Jazz Festival to Morocco’s Timitar, WOMAD in the U.K to Germany’s Bardentreffen. She’s opened for Lionel Richie and earned praise from icons including Hugh Masekela. A rising star of many talents, she played Zeni Mandela in Mandela the musical, which premiered in London in December 2022, and played the legendary Miriam Makeba in the 2014 film Mandela: A Long Walk to Freedom.
“Her voice is bigger than mine, but she’s smaller than my trumpet. The last time we invited her she stole the show from us.” – Hugh Masekela
Nomfusi’s performance will include songs from her most recent album The Red Stoep (The Red Stoop) – a most welcoming front porch for us to meet.
Nomfusi tours the U.S. for the first time in 2023 as part of Center Stage. Her debut U.S. tour makes stops in Gainesville, FL; Washington, DC; Dayton, OH; Middlesex and Barnard, VT; and New York City.
press
- Nomfusi EPK
- Album review: Songlines, The Red Stoep
- Preview: Süddeutsche Zeitung, Südafrikas Soul/South African Soul (English translation here)