Ladysmith Black Mambazo at The Academy Center of the Arts

The year 2023 marks the 63rd anniversary of Joseph Shabalala forming GRAMMY-Award winning group Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The group sings a traditional music style called isicathamiya (Is-Cot-A-Mee-Ya), developed by black workers in the mines of South Africa.

After leading his group for over fifty years and approaching his seventy-fifth birthday, Joseph Shabalala retired in 2014, handing the leadership to his three sons, Thulani, Sibongiseni and Thamsanqa Shabalala. Having joined their father’s group in 1993, their many years of training had prepared them in ways no others could be trained. Now, carrying their father’s dream into the future, the Shabalala Family continues the group’s success for the world to hear.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo at The Academy Center of the Arts is sponsored by Moore & Giles, Financial Designs, Virginia Commision for the Arts, and National Endowment for the Arts.

Tickets for this event are $15 – $53. Presale begins at 10 AM on Monday 11/27, with the General Public on Sale beginning Friday, 12/1, at 10 AM.

For more information or to purchase tickets to our performances, contact our Bank of the James Ticketing Office at (434) 846-8499, or visit AcademyCenter.Org.