Street band proves simple music still moves the people

“You don’t need all these fancy musical instruments and powerful sound systems to capture your audience. All you need is an ordinary acoustic guitar, your voice, hand claps, nice dancing moves and your voice,” says Thiathu Netshikweta, the founder and leader of street band performers, the Thiathu Adziliwi Band.

The band’s target audience is on the streets, at traditional beer outlets (mahafheni) and in households around their area. “Most of the time, we just appear from nowhere and hit the people hard with our original undiluted traditional music and people love what we do,” says Netshikweta.

The two-man band continues to mesmerise music lovers wherever they perform. Moving away from professional stages, they travel around villages, performing free of charge. Made up of Netshikweta and Adziliwi Netshisaulu, the band has gained recognition in Tshilamba, Makonde and Matatshe, impressing audiences with their music. Netshikweta, who plays the guitar, is a teacher by profession, while Netshisaulu is a Zionist pastor.

Their most popular song, Gwangwatini, is making waves wherever they go. Gwangwatini is a small village near Matavhela. Band leader Netshikweta explains how the song came into being: “We were on a road trip with my friends in December when we saw a signboard written Gwangwatini. We only heard people talking about this small village but we had never been there. It came to my mind that we need to do something about this interesting name. Without any rehearsals, I took out my guitar and started singing about Gwangwatini while Adziliwi Netshisaulu came up with beautiful backing vocals. We were surprised by the response when I uploaded the performance on my personal Facebook page. Since then, wherever we go, people request us to play Gwangwatini, and I can see their smiles because they love the song.”

Netshisaulu adds that, besides their dance moves, people love the lyrics, which thank God for sending them to Gwangwatini and allowing them to see the village with their own eyes. “Gwangwatini is one of the best songs we have ever produced and people love it. Interestingly, we don’t rehearse our songs. Everything just comes naturally, depending on what we see and the place we are.”

Date:22 January 2026

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