Red Bull Symphonic delivered its boldest South African chapter yet. For the first time in the series’ global history, two headliners shared one stage: house pioneer Sun-El Musician and Durban powerhouse Dlala Thukzin, where their catalogues were reimagined by Maestro Chad Hendricks and a full symphonic orchestra under the banner Afro House, Our Home.
Afro House, Our Home set out to honour house music as thefoundation of this South African sound, the genre that seeded kwaito, gqom, amapiano and the emerging 3-step wave. By pairing Sun-El Musician’s transcendent, melody-rich house with Dlala Thukzin’s raw gqom voltage, the production framed two artists who carry the past, command the present and are actively shaping what comes next.
The show was live on SABC 1 and simulcast on SABC plus, South Africa’s most-watched television channel, carrying the swell of the orchestra and the pulse of the dancefloor to millions of viewers nationwide. It marked the first Red Bull Symphonic to be broadcast live on a national external broadcaster, turning a sold-out ticket into a shared national moment.
Image by Mpumelelo Macu/ Red Bull Content Pool
The performances were elevated even further by a series of unforgettable guest appearances from Babes Wodumo who ignited the crowd with a show-stopping performance that had the audience on their feet from the moment she stepped onto the stage, marking this one of her first appearances on stage in a long time to Simmy’s soaring vocals that brought elegance and emotion to the orchestral arrangements of ‘Sonini” to name a few. Other appearances were by Babalwa M, Mavhungu, Mnqobi Yazo, Mlindo The Vocalist, Zee Nxumalo, Sai Hle, Thatohatsi, Mthunzi, Sykes, Zaba, Blaq Seed, Msaki and Zeh McGeba
The Vocal Hue choir and Blackville choir, drawn from an open national call, lent their voices across both nights, anchoring the orchestral grandeur in something unmistakably local. Under the open Johannesburg sky at the Montecasino outdoor arena, strings and synths met as equals, and a packed crowd answered every crescendo.
Image by Wayne Reiche/ Red Bull Content Pool
“Hearing music that people already know and love, in a symphonic setting was beautiful as it allowed us to hear every emotion, every melody and every layer differently. It was also exciting to share that experience with Dlala Thukzin because, although we come from different spaces musically, we both have a deep respect for our craft and for South African music,” said, Sun-El Musician.
“Never did I ever think we would hear gqom through an orchestra, but we did it! Working with Sun-El Musician was beyond exceptional; we brought KZN on that stage and the minds of two creatives, it was magical” said, Dlala Thukzin.
“Having to work on this was one of the biggest highlights of my career, bridging two sonic worlds and conducting the arrangements live was definitely one for the books”, shared Maestro Chad Hendricks.
Red Bull Symphonic has grown into one of the most ambitious live music platforms in Mzansi and globally. It is a stage where the music that moves South Africa is finally spotlighted at the scale it has always deserved. If this weekend proved anything, it is that the story is still building, and the next chapter is already being written.
