Cape+Town+Spectacular

**Spectacular Cape Town! Spectacular Concert! Spectacular Sunset!**

We had a lively little crowd at our “casual” concert at the outdoor Waterfront amphitheater yesterday. Folks came and went, but as we sang more, we drew a big crowd. The sound system was quite good, so the voices of the boys filled the Waterfront and enticed people as they strolled about.

Something quite extraordinary happened earlier in the day. When KSB was first in South Africa ten years, we came across an outstanding ten-man singing group (think Ladysmith Black Mambazo) from the township who were performing for money at the Waterfront. We hired them to work with our boys. We found an abandoned shed and had a fantastic musical exchange. Well, ten years later, low and behold, I ran into them. The very same group! So we invited them to join us for the end of our concert at the outdoor amphitheater.

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Link to pics in the set: A&E Wharf Concert

We invited them up on stage and asked them to do their own set. They sang an amazing version of Shosholoza. A totally different style than ours. Mesmerizing. They then joined us for //Nkosi Sikeleli//, as well as our new fabulous set of South African songs. When we got to our version of Shosholoza each of our graduating seniors were ‘adopted’ by one of the ten guest singers. Right in the middle of the performance, the men taught our seniors their version of Shosholoza. The two versions melded into one. It was such a quintessential South African moment. Rehearsal and performance all in one. It’s difficult to articulate what the moment was like. It seemed that the entire Waterfront was singing with us. I would have to say it was //thee//magical moment of countless magical moments on this trip.

And then another magical moment. (It’s an embarrassment of riches, really. Every day better than the next.) We boarded our buses and climbed up Signal Hill to see Cape Town from above. The vistas took our breath away. The city. Table Mountain. And the sea! Unfathomably beautiful. We gathered the boys and arranged them so that they faced the setting sun. It always a special moment when young people “get it.” We talked about how hard they work during the season and that moments like this are their reward. We talked about how it doesn’t get much better than this. Making music together, and profoundly enriching lives – our own and the countless people our music has touched.

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Link to pics in the set: Sunset on Signal Hill

If I had arranged it with God himself, it could not have been a more perfect sunset. I can describe it in words, but they won’t do the picture justice. The metaphor was not lost on anyone. The sun was setting in more than one way. Tour winding down. For some, their KSB career winding down. As Joe ansd I conducted the boys singing our own National Anthem and //Nkosi Sikeleli,//our backs were to the sun, but we could see it setting in the faces of each and every boy. What a gift. After a very full day, we returned to our homestays. The families have, in a very short time, fallen in love with your boys. Several of them have informed me they are keeping them. Let me know if you parents are open to that concept J More later…