Explore · Freshlyground
A new voice.
A shared
journey.
The sound of a changing South Africa.
The songs that travelled the world.
And the young artist opening the next chapter.
01 · Mbali Makhoba
Her own voice.
Her own songs.
Mbali grew up in Imizamo Yethu, in Cape Town’s Hout Bay. Her connection to South African musical traditions is part of the voice she brings to Freshlyground.
She was 20 when Take Me Home was released in April 2026. Alongside her soulful singing, her songwriting became central to the band’s new direction.
In an interview with Mail & Guardian, Simon Attwell describes how an initial plan to perform the existing repertoire grew into a new creative partnership. Mbali wanted to write. New songs followed, and she found her own way into the older material.
For longtime listeners, Zolani Mahola remains an essential part of the band’s history. Mbali brings a different musical personality to a story that continues to unfold.
Read the Mail & Guardian interview
Meet the artist
Let Mbali
introduce herself.
The band’s introduction offers a closer look at the person behind the voice and the energy she brings into the group.
YouTube loads when you press play.
02 · The Freshlyground story
A country finding
a new sound.
When Freshlyground formed in Cape Town in 2002, South Africa was still learning how to live the promise of its new democracy.
The band’s members came from different countries, backgrounds and musical worlds. Their blend of southern African rhythms, pop, jazz, blues and folk made those differences audible as a shared musical language.
With Zolani Mahola’s distinctive voice at its centre, Nomvula reached across audiences. Doo Be Doo became South Africa’s most-played song in 2005. Ma’Cheri and Pot Belly deepened the connection, while European tours brought new listeners into the fold.
Celebration also left room for conviction. The satirical Chicken to Change challenged political power in Zimbabwe. Freshlyground could fill a dance floor and still ask difficult questions.
A few moments along the way
Cape Town
Freshlyground form. The independently released debut Jika Jika follows in 2003.
Nomvula
A breakthrough album, Doo Be Doo, and the MTV Europe Music Award for Best African Act.
Waka Waka
With Shakira, Freshlyground perform the official FIFA World Cup song on a global stage.
The next chapter
Take Me Home, a European comeback tour and a return to European stages planned for 2027.
03 · Beyond the global hit
More than
one song.
The 2010 World Cup collaboration with Shakira became a worldwide anthem. Freshlyground performed Waka Waka (This Time for Africa) at both the opening concert and the closing ceremony in Johannesburg.
For those who had followed the band before the World Cup, that was one extraordinary moment within a much wider story: albums, shared stages with artists including Hugh Masekela and Stevie Wonder, and a connection with audiences built concert by concert.
That connection matters to GRIOT. Wulf von Gaudecker remembers an early sold-out Freshlyground concert at Hannover’s Pavillon: the German audience could sing along to almost every song. For him, it captured the band’s rare ability to make people feel part of the music.
04 · Take Me Home
Room for
something new.
After Zolani pursued her solo career in 2019 and the band took a break, the arrival of Mbali created a new beginning. The current six-piece includes Chris Bakalanga alongside Simon Attwell, Julio Sigauque, Josh Hawks and Peter Cohen.
With JB Arthur producing, the band recorded in Harare. Take Me Home brings eight tracks together around the sound of musicians playing and creating as an ensemble.
The title song’s idea of home — a place of safety and peace — sits alongside moments of joy, movement and release. The European tour of 2026 brought these songs into the same room as the people listening.
Listen to Take Me HomeThe story continues · Europe 2027
Back on the road.
Open to what comes next.
The summer of 2026 took the new line-up across Europe for more than six weeks, from Karlsruhe and Berlin to Amsterdam, London and Oslo. Warm audience responses and enthusiastic reviews marked a new beginning. Freshlyground return in 2027 with that shared experience behind them.
Watch the band live ↗European booking · 2027
Bring Freshlyground to your stage.
Six musicians · Dates and routing on request
Wulf von Gaudecker · GRIOT
wulf@griot.de