Last Sunday Sessions creates something wonderful from nothing HEATHER DUGMORE >> BRANDSTORIES Creating something wonderful from nothing is the art of the artist and that’s how LwandoSessions was born. ‘It literally started in our back yard where a bunch of neighbourhood musicians got together,” says Cape Town-based musician, poet, activist and cultural entrepreneur Samantha Bekebeke, aka Miss Morena, who brought out her first album this year, titled 2021 The Mixtape. “During the lockdown, we wanted to bring people together safely through music and art and to uplift each other in the entertainment industry, as we were facing a daunting future. We thought: ‘Let’s form a band and make people happy while maintaining social distance’. So
we started holding sessions that we called ‘LwandoSessions’ in our backyard in Observatory and people really enjoyed them. “When the demand increased, we managed to rent an art studio five floors up at InSitu – a creative space at 199 Albert Road in Woodstock with a rooftop that offers incredible sunset views and space to seat people two metres apart.” Living up to the name Lwando, which means “to grow”, and with grant assistance from the Arts & Culture Trust (ACT), funded by Nedbank, the project grew beyond the usual backyard sessions and that's when Lifestyle Explore, a creative production business, came into being. Bekebeke manages the business and Ishmael Khumalo, a businessman and chef by
profession, became the CEO. Khumalo also encouraged Bekebeke to start recording her music in 2015. “We managed to purchase our own musical instruments instead of hiring it. We also established a music production company that shoots music videos and does sound recordings. Soon LwandoSessions became known as Last Sunday Sessions, where we would come together on the last Sunday of every month and create a market hub space in the Woodstock studio, bringing together musicians, chefs, cooks, entrepreneurs, clothing designers, performing artists, writers, jewellery makers, book store owners and more, providing an array of talent with a platform.” To date, they have held 21 Last Sunday Sessions and also started
