When Nomfusi takes the stage at the Cedar Cultural Center on April 21st, her first time performing there, the spring in her step will be genuine. Mshale grabbed a few minutes of her time between Barcelona and Johannesburg to talk about her upcoming show.
“What I found from my last tour (in 2025) in the US was the welcoming attitudes from people everywhere; it’s the opposite of what social media and the internet lead us to believe,” South African Nomfusi told me, her warmth and positivity emanating over our connection and seven hour time difference.
Her spirited demeanor she attributes to her mother who passed just as Nomfusi was about to enter her teenage years.
“My mom wasn’t like most mothers,” Nomfusi said, “if I went home crying because I got beat by a classmate, she wouldn’t say, ‘Oh, there there, honey.’ She’d want to know what happened and what I was going to do about it.”
Nomfusi laughed, “She didn’t advocate fighting, but she didn’t think we should just put up with other people’s (issues).”
“The message, at this moment, is the message of not giving up, the message of resilience,” said Nomfusi, “because I look at my life and I think, where did I ever get this—the strength—but ultimately, it looks like the message of don’t give up.
Nomfusi needed this intestinal fortitude as a youth because she not only lost her mother, but her father was absent and her aunt who stepped in to care for Nomfusi and her siblings also passed while Nomfusi was a teenager.
“I credit my resilience from my mother and my country and the township (KwaZakhele) structure that I come from,” the 40-year-old mother of two said.
“It took time for me to find my voice, I’m not gonna lie, it took time for me to find my sound, find my music. It was not an easy journey, but I wouldn’t change anything,” she said. “I wouldn’t be able to wake up every morning without choosing to be optimistic about life.”
if you don’t know Nomfusi, if you’ve never heard of her in your life, it would help to have a picture of Miriam Makeba and Tina Turner in mind. Nomfusi’s music is built on South African rhythms and beautiful melodies including the distinctive clicks of Kwele. Maskandi guitars, Afropop, Afro-soul all influence this tiny musician with a big stage presence.
Nomfusi said, “and the energy of Tina Turner on that stage is definitely gonna be so evident.”
Tickets for her April 21st show at The Cedar are available here.
Nomfusi will take the stage with a matinee at The Sheldon Theater in Red Wing, Minnesota on April 19th prior to her Twin Cities performance at the Cedar.
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About Susan Budig
Susan is based in Minneapolis and reports on general assignments for Mshale with a focus on entertainment. In addition to reporting, she is also a writer, poet, teacher and coach.
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