It was during the 2011 National Arts Festival when I arrived in Grahamstown. The pint size town was abuzz with musical shows, poetry sessions, and plays. I was spoilt for choice and I wanted to go to all of the events. Unfortunately since I cannot be in more than one place at a time, I could not attend all the shows. I got the impression that the town would have this vibe throughout the year, but unfortunately it was not to be so. When the festivities came to an end, the people retreated to their caves leaving the town dead.

Now that the festive season is coming forth, the creative geniuses are resurfacing back from their state of hibernation.  Siyabonga “Psalms 87” Masinda of Ancient Harmony Productions, was the first to make an appearance by organizing the reggae show dubbed ‘Good over Evil’ which was held at Olde's 65 on Saturday the 29th of October.

Good Over Evil is an annual event that was first held in Grahamstown and has toured Johannesburg, Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and is now scheduled to take place in East London and Coffee Bay. In this leg, Ancient Monarchy Productions invited only the finest artists such as Fountain and Harmony, both from Port Elizabeth, and the band Third Generation from Uitenhage, who did renditions of well known songs by musicians such as Sean Paul and Dolly Patton and Nyabhinghi and got the crowd bobbing their heads and singing along merrily.

If there were any evil spirits lurking around they must have shoved their tails between their legs and made their way to the door when the bobo shante started chanting and dancing, as if possessed by spirits unknown to mankind. The energy the artists had was amazing! The show was enchanting and I was moved by how the artists take their craft seriously. They were disciplined performers, who captured the audience in a purely sober state.