LEBALA THII: Soul Fill Up makes music history
Thousands of revellers flocked the National Stadiun this past Saturday for the much anticipated Soul FIll Up by Franco concert. The popular joke of the day was: 'Ga gona ope ko Gabane, go setse basadibagolo le bananyana hela!'
But it is not only people of Gabane where Franco hails from, who attended, but scores of music lovers from across Botswana, some who had even bought tickets two years ago when the show was first set to be held before Covid19 restrictions happened. But despite the previous hiccups and postponements,the show had to go on and it was a jump!
It is often said that when one dances to kwasa kwasa, the magic is in the waist and you wiggle it frantically, take one step to the left, another to the right, hit reverse and then just as quickly push forward and then back to the waist wiggling!
But there wasn't enough space for revellers to showcase their dancing skills as it was filled to capacity, and those in attendance were forced to stand shoulder to shoulder to catch a glimpse of the sterling performances from the likes of Matsieng, Maratwa, Obakeng,DJ Crispin the drummer, ATI and Vee among many others at the all local line-up gig. Franco, who performed twice - during the day and in the wee hours of Sunday morning, had his loyal fans eating from the palm of his hand as he belted out in tune and gyrated as if his life depended on it.
Together with his back-up dancers, he dished well-choreographed kwasa kwasa moves that left many bopping along. Most of Franco's fans are ordinary folk on the street who can relate to his lyrics and enjoy a good jive - these are people who sometimes struggle to make ends meet but they always take out their hardearned money to support their much-loved Lepako's concerts. After nearly two decades in the music industry, its safe to say Franco is truly a living music legend. As ATI said in between his performance: 'God has said 'Yes.' Sometimes we doubt ourselves and others but what God has ordained to be will come to pass, no matter who does and says what!'