Hugh Masekela at Kirstenbosch Gardens

I had planned to go to Kirstenbosch Gardens for a Sunday evening concert several times since I arrived in Cape Town. However, every time something came up and I had gone 2 months without attending a concert. Well, now its the end of March and there are only 3 concerts left in the summer concert series. The next two Sundays I will be unavailable, so this Sunday is my last chance. It just so happens this is probably the coolest of all the Kirstenbosch Summer Concerts to go to. Hugh Masekela is one of the most famous South African musicians worldwide. He came to international fame as a solo trumpeter in the 1960s and reached full on stardom when he and Miriam Makeba (known as Mama Africa) joined Paul Simon in the mid-1980s to release Graceland and tour around Africa, the US and Europe with the hottest album of the year (won the grammy for best album), and the most interesting album of the 1980s.

Perfect day for a concert at Kirstenbosch

Concert aside, the view and conditions on this day were nothing short of stunning. Kirstenbosch is a botanical garden and there is a small section where a concert lawn is for performers. I had not yet seen the gardens and was blown away by the beautiful green grass, lush bushes and awe-inspiring mountains that lay beyond the concert area. So we gleefully found the ticket window, and Ross, Jarrett, Bryson, Tripp and I walked up to the ticket counter only to discover that the tickets were 100% sold out.

Hugh preforms "Bring Him Back Home" which he wrote about Nelson Mandela at Paul Simon's South African Graceland concert in 1986

Now, back home in the United States, I probably would have given up here, if there were no scalpers present on the street. But, seeing as South Africa is a little more relaxed, a little less official and the consequences were very low, we decided to sneak into the concert. We bought tickets for just the gardens (cost about R10 as opposed to R100 for the concert and they look nothing alike). Somehow, I became the first to go and try my luck trying to slip through. I quickly handed the man the ticket not making eye contact and looking as if I spotted someone I knew and darted through the entry way. Then, unsure if I'd been figured out or not ran into the crowd so that I would be gone and lost forever. Successful, I waited to see if my cohorts would be as successful. 

Rhymin' Simon performing "You Can Call Me Al" in South Africa, this song starring Hugh on trumpet

Ross and Bryson were able to get through security. Ross used noting but a train pass and while he was stopped, somehow a diversion was created that allowed him to slip into the crowd. After 3 young males had forced their way in, Jarrett and Tripp were unfortunately unable to gain admittance. But that's the price you pay when trying to sneak 5 people into a sold out concert. We felt badly, but not badly enough to give up our free sold out concert admission, so we headed into the crowd and looked for friends or a place to sit down. The concerts are BYOB and BYOF (food). People prepare wine and cheese baskets, and the setting makes for an ideal evening. Obviously, we had neither the foresight nor desire to arrange such a thing, though we regretted not having one the moment we entered. We also had nowhere to sit since we were the last few into the concert. However, when milling around, Ross and I spotted our Dutch friend, Simon, who was with his family and had a great big blanket sprawled out with space to share. Sure enough, he invited for us to sit down, and miraculously, after showing up right at the time the concert began, without food, wine or tickets, we had prime seats and wine and food to drink with friends.

One of my favorites, "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes" performed by Simon in South Africa with Hugh trumpet

Now we could focus on the beautiful setting and concert, realizing that we'd just gotten away with murder to be in the positions e were now. Hugh preformed some great songs and the crowd was so into it, it made the experience even better. He took a good amount of time to speak about social and political happenings around the world between songs, an interesting perspective on life, having lived through apartheid and being a public figure who was an activist through his music. Paul Simon's Graceland album was controversial because Simon went to South Africa despite the cultural boycott placed on apartheid era South Africa. I was hoping he might play something we could recognize from the Graceland album (one of my favorite albums ever, Simon also being one of my favorite artists ever). But, the music was incredible and a great cultural experience.

One of the All-Time Great Albums, Paul Simon's Graceland (1986) featuring Hugh Masekela

The concert began to wind down as the sun set over the nearby mountains. Hugh finished with one last ballad "African Woman" that was my favorite of the night. He also played "Soweto Blues" which is one of his most powerful songs, highlighting his activism regarding the Soweto Township Riots in the 1980s. He concluded to much fanfare and applause and we were sufficiently happy we had found our way to the concert experience we had. Though we lost some men along the way, it was an awesome afternoon and I wish I'd been able to come to Kirstenbosch for the Summer Concert Series more.

Miriam Makeba (Left), Paul Simon (Middle), Hugh Masekela (Right) while on the Graceland tour

Under African Skies Trailer - 25th Anniversary of Graceland 2012