WINDHOEK – Music sensation Venaune Kandukira, known as Big Ben, will be one of the headlining acts at the TLB Launch and Charity Run to be hosted in South Africa from 27-29 September 2019.
The guitar maestro will be sharing the stage with Kabelo, Thebe and Dj Sumbody just to mention a few. It’s not the first time that the 2016 NAMA male artist of the year will be performing outside the country as he has hosted his concerts in countries like the UK and Germany with the help of organizations and fans based there.
Speaking to Entertainment Now! he said Namibian artists do get invites to perform outside the country but the problem boils down to mobility. ‘’Other African countries have arts funds that help artists to travel and showcase their arts. It is like a loan. Go, perform, get paid and pay back the money.
Here you must run around for sponsorships or pay your own. Sponsorships would also be awarded in a skewed manner that it looks like only certain people get sponsorships. Trust me I have been there and gave up on asking,’’ he explained.
He confessed to this reporter that he was once invited to an event outside the country and approached a certain government office for assistance but got turned down cause they did not have any funds and so he withdrew from the event. Just to have another Namibian artist get the spot and get the funds from the same office that said they did not have funds which that discouraging. ‘’Life goes on that is part of the life we live, we have learned to smile and try again. But once in a while, the universe smiles back to us,’’ he said.
According to Big Ben, the organizers reached out to him via social networks when they saw him entertaining tourists not so long ago.
The Namibian award winning and nominee in the upcoming NAMAs said his secret to remaining relevant is having a ‘don’t give up’ attitude. ‘’That helps me a lot. What I do is personal to me, my fans are personal, music business to me is personal. Some experts say it is wrong but this approach allows me to work this thing with a more intimate and personalized touch. I try to be the same and do the same thing better all the time,’’ he ended.