It’s Hugh, it’s huge

In an intimate, reflective conversation I had with Barbara Masekela, Hugh Masekela’s sister, and Pula Twala, his daughter, I thought I’d uncover a definitive portrait of the legend. What emerged instead was something more profound: not a complete picture of the man behind the global icon but fragments of humanity, memories, emotions and moments that reveal who Masekela was beyond the stage.

It became clear that understanding a figure of Masekela’s magnitude isn’t about arriving at a single, fixed narrative. Even those closest to him — his sister and daughter — couldn’t fully encapsulate his essence. Instead, they shared glimpses: of a protective older brother who could be both caring and, at times, delightfully irritating; of a father who embraced playfulness and sought friendship with his daughter, striving to be not just a parent but a companion.

These stories don’t paint a portrait of a distant legend, but of a complex, loving individual who was a living contradiction. Beyond the memories, there’s a sound that still echoes; the bold, triumphant blow of the horn that carries a message greater than the music itself: love.

Though he spent much of his life away from home, Masekela didn’t lose his unwavering love for South Africa. He loved its music across generations, its evolving sounds, its artists, seasoned and emerging. He listened, he supported, he celebrated. He loved its people and was a “people person”.

Wherever he went, he connected, asking strangers where they were from, what their story was. He’d attend shows not just to watch but to engage, to speak, to listen, to share. Every country he visited, he embraced with curiosity and admiration, finding magic in its people and its culture.

Yet, here at home, amid the noise of everyday life, we sometimes forget his magic.

That’s why events like the tribute taking place this month at the Joburg Theatre, directed by James Ngcobo, become a reminder as much as they’re a performance.

Billed as “more than a concert,” a collaboration with the Hugh Masekela Heritage Foundation, gathers an intergenerational ensemble that reflects Masekela’s influence and his restless, borderless spirit. Vusi Mahlasela brings his familiar moral gravity and storytelling warmth, while Zoë Modiga offers a more contemporary, introspective reinterpretation of the canon and Judith Sephuma brings her class act.

There’s breadth, too, in the inclusion of Tresor Riziki, whose pan-African pop sensibility nods to Masekela’s global reach, alongside the harmonies of the Baobab Sisters and the kinetic energy of iComplete. Under the direction of Ngcobo with musical direction by Sydney Mavundla, the show promises not mere nostalgia but reinterpretation — familiar songs refracted through new voices, new contexts.

What emerges is less a linear biography than a living archive. Trumpet-led arrangements anchor the evening, while visual installations and memorabilia in the foyer extend the experience beyond the stage.

Masekela’s music was never just about sound; it was about movement — political, cultural, emotional. This tribute understands that. It doesn’t attempt to freeze him in reverence, but to keep him in motion. Generations meet, histories overlap and somewhere between memory and reinvention, the spirit of Bra Hugh continues to sound — not as an echo, but as insistence.

Tickets for Tribute to Hugh are available at Webtickets. The show is on at the Joburg Theatre from April 9 to 12 2026.