When U2 frontman Bono first saw the Soweto Gospel Choir during a sound check, he said: “I can’t hear them, I can feel them.”
The South African choir’s master Shimmy Jiyane carried the rock icon’s words with him as the ensemble went on to open for Stevie Wonder, harmonise with Beyonce and perform for presidents.
“We bring our roots, we bring the African sound and we bring the vibration,” Jiyane said of working with some of the world’s biggest acts.
“We bring different cultures and faiths and we bring a different dimension to their music.
“That’s the power of our music.”
The Grammy Award-winning choir is preparing to swap global stages for a three-month Australian tour beginning in August, including several regional shows across NSW, Queensland, WA and Victoria.
The group will perform their new show HOPE, which traverses South African freedom anthems, US civil rights protest songs and hits from soul legends like Aretha Franklin, James Brown and Sam Cooke.
Speaking with soaring voices and the stirring thrum of steel drums echoing in the background during a recent rehearsal in Johannesburg, Jiyane told AAP the show was a salve for uncertain times.
“We just came out of COVID and people lost their lives and their loved-ones and friends and families, people lost their jobs and houses,” he said.
“We were all in the dark – you would wake up and wonder what tomorrow brings.
“People need something that’s going to revive them and music is food for the soul.
“We are all looking at the hope that tomorrow will be better.”
The choir formed in the city’s suburb of Soweto in 2002 to bring together singers from several churches, many of whom were not formally trained and had picked up music and song by ear.
Australians were among the first audiences to embrace the group in its early days and for that the members feel an enduring sense of gratitude.
The 69-date tour, which includes a stop at the Sydney Opera House, comes just five months after the choir’s performance at Adelaide Fringe.
“We call it our second home, Australia always showed us love,” Jiyane said.
“We started with nobody knowing us, nobody ever listening to us, then when we did a three-month tour, it sold out.
“It means a lot to us and said a lot about how much impact we have in this industry and in the world.”
The regional shows – from Tamworth, NSW, to Mackay in Queensland and WA’s Margaret River – are also an opportunity to bring culture and entertainment to communities that sometimes miss out.
“Those people are in need of greatness and great music and great performances – they deserve better,” Jiyane said
“We cater to any audiences that we get: we might get 10 people watching us, but we perform as if there’s 80,000.”