Posted on 12/14/2022 1:38:33 PM PST by nickcarraway
Gazi Simelane (Dusty) and Linda Msibi (Stones) are country music singers from the Kingdom of eSwatini. The 22-year-old band of two boasts of being the only African band to participate in the Texas Sounds International Country Music Awards, clinching the Duo of the Year Award 2017. Photo: Supplied
On 17 November, Dusty and Stones, a feature-length documentary by filmmaker Jesse Rudoy, had its world premiere at New York’s NYC DOC festival, the United States’ largest and most influential documentary festival.
Gazi Simelane (Dusty) and Linda Msibi (Stones) are country music singers from the Kingdom of eSwatini. The 22-year-old band of two boasts of being the only African band to participate in the Texas Sounds International Country Music Awards, clinching the Duo of the Year Award 2017.
The 90-minute documentary tells the story of how the two started in the industry, from humble beginnings at their home in Mooihoek to music tours in the US.
Their journey to the current glory started when “Dusty came home one day with a guitar, then I was interested in it, I started taking some lessons on what he was doing” says Stones.
With consistent training and their compositions, Stones describes the 22 years of making country music alongside his cousin as a “very fulfilling journey”.
“Shooting of the documentary began in June 2017 to 2019, and it is our dream come true that the world gets to hear and see our story,” says Dusty.
After the documentary attracted high sales in its premiere event in New York, the two hope to embark on documentary screening tours across different countries where they have huge followings.
“We would like to have this screened in different places, especially in South Africa and in Kenya — in fact, across Africa because we have a lot of followers,” he added.
Growing up in Mooihoek in the Shiselweni area southeast of the capital Manzini, the two were raised in the countryside, which influenced the themes in their compositions.
“We can’t sing hip-hop, because we don’t relate to that. We are country boys … we grew up in the farm setting, so country music and our way of life is just one thing,” said Stones.
Dusty and Stones have performed in Texas, New York and Nashville. While in the US, country hitmaker and producer Robert Ellis Orral invited the cousins to his studio. At the famed Rukkus Room in Nashville, the same studio where American pop artist Taylor Swift made some of her hit singles, they recorded several tracks backed by a seasoned Nashville band.
They view their huge following in the US as an opportunity to tell the African story from the perspective of Africans who have grown up in the countryside with the hope of inspiring the world.
Dusty and Stones believe “country music is also part of the family. You hear people singing mostly about their parents, their sisters, their loved ones, all of whom are family,” Stones said as he explained their deep connection with country music.
TV shows like ‘Yellowstone’ feature a lot of Country. I wish the shows would spread out and go beyond the U.S. borders for music. Fitzroy Xpress is an Australian Aboriginal Country Rock band that has been around a long time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0515KaxVd9A
AKA Swaziland
Yeah, I watched that one also. 🙂
Very wholesome music!
Yes, and they pull of the country music very well, as well. Can’t seem to find any albums of them to buy though. I wonder why. While I like live music, I think I would love to listen to them in a studio setting as well.
I've always loved this song, for it has a kind of alternative country sound to it:
Either someone has the same taste in music, or it was generated for me. Anyway, I wanted to bring it to your attention that I think it's an awesome playlist, and you might enjoy it also. 😋
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