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If you haven’t seen singer Zoë Modiga live, then you haven’t lived.
I still remember the first time I got the privilege of watching the singer live in 2019. As the fields of the historical Constitution Hill filled with attendees at the famed Afropunk Festival in Johannesburg, I sat in mindless conversation with friends as we waited for the next act. Like a wave, Modiga's voice consumed me as she walked onto the stage.
Until that point, I had only heard good things about the woman with the captivating voice, but now, after catching my ear and my eye, I never looked back.
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Now, Modiga presents the last of her Inganekwane era, with the last tour leg of the album in Johannesburg on September 8 at The Lyric Theatre in Gold Reef City, on September 1 at The Chairman in Durban and on October 20 at The Star Theatre in Cape Town.
The tour will be celebrating Modiga’s sophomore album, which was released during the height of the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020. Inganekwane became one of Modiga’s most beloved projects, with critical appraisals from the industry and her fans, and featured hits, such as Abantu, Intsha and Isegazini.
Modiga said:
At the time of its release, the album detailed parts of Modiga’s life, while still brilliantly capturing the lives and realities of many. With essential themes, such as loss, self-discovery, life and its fleeting nature, and God or a higher power at the centre of the album, Modiga created a masterpiece. Modiga’s keen sense of sound and her ability to capture human nature has long been her superpower. The last leg of her Inganekwane tour promises to be one for the books.
This time around, Modiga will be delivering a transcendental performance, with influences from her classical and jazz background to enchant her audiences.
“It’s important for me to tell the stories of our modern and evolving continent without losing the essence of what makes us African,” she said.
We are also excited to confirm that although Modiga is saying farewell to the Inganekwane era, the singer noted that she is already in the studio creating a new body of work, which will be released in 2024.
"For the last time, we will be celebrating all the themes in Inganekwane, our heritage, our identity and our sense of self. When we say, 'cos cos' at the end of a fairytale, it is the end of a chapter and so, bid farewell to this era and usher a new chapter in. This is thanks to all the music lovers and an introduction to the new."
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While we don’t yet know much about the next chapter in Modiga’s already impressive career, we already know that the artist will give audiences a myriad of deep and intense stories that will only make the next chapter of her fairytale richer.
For now, Modiga promises that Inganekwane’s farewell will be a spiritual experience, fostering the space for evocative individualism.
"I can’t wait for our people to be laughing, dancing, singing, crying and closing this chapter with us," she conceded.
