BY NELIWE NGUBANE
MALKERNS– Rising Eswatini music sensation Sancheziey turned the Honeycomb Stage into a cultural celebration at the Standard Bank Luju Food & Lifestyle Festival, captivating hundreds of festivalgoers with an energetic performance that had fans singing, dancing and embracing traditional moves from start to finish.
Performing under this year’s festival theme, “Kwesukasukela – A Return to the African Future,” the artist delivered a set that blended tradition with modern sounds, proving why he is one of the country’s fastest-rising stars.
Sancheziey admitted that performing on one of Luju’s biggest stages came with mixed emotions.
“An event of this magnitude is a mountain that you need to climb with care. It requires planning, audience study, stage study and preparation,” he said.
Having spent just over a year in the professional music industry, the artist described the opportunity as a blessing.
“Being trusted with one of the biggest stages locally speaks volumes of the God I serve,” he said.
Moments before taking to the stage, his team feared the crowd would be small after noticing only a handful of people gathered. However, everything changed within minutes.
“To our surprise, by the time we finished our first song, people were already packed, and that was fulfilling,” he said.
The audience rewarded him with loud singalongs and spirited traditional dancing, especially during performances of Emaweni and Halalaa, moments the singer described as unforgettable.
The festival’s theme also held personal meaning for Sancheziey, who said the word Kwesukasukela reminded him of childhood storytelling sessions with his grandmother.
“I grew up hearing the word almost every day before bedtime from my grandmother. My music already takes emaSwati back to the old days, so I connected with the theme on a deeper level,” he explained.
The performance also served as a preview of his highly anticipated album, uMntfwana weLive, which is set for release on 5 August. Seeing fans passionately embrace the unreleased songs gave him confidence that the project would receive an overwhelming response.
Looking ahead, Sancheziey said his focus for the remainder of the year will be promoting the album through tours while continuing to grow his vision with “respect and honour.”
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