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Vusi Mahlasela Tuesday, April 22 8 p.m. Flood Arena, * * * * * Free and open to the public;
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From the dark days of apartheid in South Africa, to the warm glow of international concert stages, Vusi Mahlasela has been a shining light on the arts and the struggle for human rights. He will appear in concert at Beloit College on Tuesday, April 22, at 8 p.m., in the Flood Arena, in the Sports Center. Tickets for the general public are available as of April 4 at http://belcon.beloit.edu and are free and distributed on a first-come/first-served basis.
Mahlasela will also bring his music and activism to the Beloit community through an appearance at Wright Elementary School the morning of April 22. Carol Wickersham, a visiting instructor of sociology at the college, says that his school visit will offer area youth insights about the issues that inform Mahlasela’s life and work. The opportunity grew out of a class she is teaching called Doing the Right Thing Well: Experiments in Ethical and Effective Leadership, part of a leadership initiative at Beloit College.“My students want to share the inspiring example of Mr. Mahlasela’s leadership with the children who are our future leaders,” Wickersham says.
Later in the day, the musician will join Beloit College students at a luncheon at the college.
A talented artist, Mahlasela emerged from the poverty of a South African township, having taught himself to play instruments fashioned out of tin cans and fishing line. In time, he became an accomplished guitarist, percussionist, arranger, band leader and performer. He penned original songs that focus on political and social themes and performed often at political rallies and cultural events, garnering a large following along the way. Today, he is one of South Africa’s true breakout artists, having earned critical acclaim worldwide. The Boston Globe has described him as a “star in the making,” while the New York Times lauded his “voice that leaps out of the music.”
Mahlasela’s political activism has influenced his work and placed him in the front lines of global human rights campaigns. He now serves as an international ambassador to help raise global awareness of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa. Dave Matthews, a fellow South African and music superstar, has said that Mahlasela “…was a voice during the revolution, a voice of hope, sort of like a Woody Guthrie or Bob Dylan of South Africa, and he still is.” Detailed information about Mahlasela can be found online at www.vusimahlasela.com.
Mahlasela’s performance at Beloit College is one stop on his United States concert tour. It is sponsored in part by the college’s student government and its programming board. For more information about the event, contact Alex Catalan, the event coordinator and programming board director, at catalana@stu.beloit.edu or 608-363-2866.