Chris Theko
This weekend promises to be the busiest in Maseru as two of the most loved brands will be bringing what is expected to be the most ‘lit’ events. ‘Friends of Keys to the City’ will be taking place at Blue Point Cafe on Saturday, while ‘Coolerbox Picnic’ will be taking place at Phomolo Guest House in Matala on the same day.
The concurrent staging of the two iconic events will be a remake of last year when they came head-to-head; hence the brains behind the shows are unfazed.
One of the organisers of Keys to the city (KTTC), Mabusetsa Sakhele told this publication that this year’s offing of the event will be one-of-a-kind as it is mainly focused on the people who have been loyal to the brand.
“Since the first installment of Keys to the city we have had loyal supporters, people who we call friends of the event and we had them in mind hence the name,” Sakhele said.
The brand came as a brainchild of the Hip-Hop savvy quartet of Bokang Khoarai, Mimi Setlaba, Hlony Mafereka and Sakhele, with the first installment of the event held at Barcelos, Maseru Mall in 2015, to cater for the Hip Hop-loving youth.
Much to the disappointment of the event faithful, late last year the organisers announced that they will be taking a break from hosting the event after some of the founders pulled out.
However, according to Mabusetsa, after much thought, they decided to give the people what they want once more but with a different twist to what the event itself usually delivers.
“There has not been much activity this year due to Covid-19 so we were closely watching as people were talking about how they wish Keys to the city could do something once the lockdown restrictions are eased hence we thought of giving our friends something.
“It obviously not easy with all the regulations to organise an event host like this but we are hopeful that we will manage and host it successfully,” he said.
Sakhele said Maseru is a very small city but enough for the different markets that promoters target and it is a huge coincidence that KTTC seems to be clashing with other big events
“It is just a coincidence that every time there’s a Keys event, there is another big event happening elsewhere in the city. It is not only with Cooler Box picnic, but it has been happening since our first event where there was also Maseru Beach Party,” Sakhele said.
Friends of keys to the city will be headlined by the likes of Hunky D, Ten\10, Toxique, Osmic, Koncept, Pablo and the only female performer on the line-up Nelo.
On the other hand, Cooler Box picnic organiser Motlatsi Makhetha, famously known as ‘Afro Deejay’, said although his event is quite young (this year will be its second installment), it is one of the most loved by revelers.
“My first event was in 2019 and was held with the aim of catering for a market of middle aged people with a kind of chilled out lifestyle. So I am not worried about having an event on the same day as others because we cater for different needs and interests,” said Afro Deejay, adding that the aim of the project was to bridge the gap in the entertainment sphere between the young and the older people.
