Ladysmith appears Oct. 6 at FSC

The Grammy award-winning sounds of South African group Ladysmith Black Mambazo are coming to Weston Auditorium at Fitchburg State College.

Ladysmith Black Mambazo will appear at 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 6 on campus. A spotlight talk will be held before the concert at 7:15 p.m. in Weston Auditorium. English professor Chola Chisunka will discuss South African cultural context.

For more than thirty years, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has married the intricate rhythms and harmonies of their native South African musical traditions to the sounds and sentiments of Christian gospel music. The result is a musical and spiritual alchemy that has touched a worldwide audience representing every corner of the religious, cultural and ethnic landscape.

Assembled in the early 1960s in South Africa by Joseph Shabalala - then a young farm boy turned factory worker - the group took the name Ladysmith Black Mambazo - Ladysmith being the name of Shabalala's rural hometown; Black being a reference to oxen, the strongest of all farm animals; and Mambazo being the Zulu word for axe, a symbol of the group's ability to chop down any singing rival who might challenge them. Their collective voices were so tight and their harmonies so polished that they were eventually banned from competitions - although they were welcome to participate strictly as entertainers.

In the mid-1980s, Paul Simon visited South Africa and incorporated Ladysmith Black Mambazo's rich tenor/alto/bass harmonies into his "Graceland" album - a landmark 1986 recording that was considered seminal in introducing world music to mainstream audiences.

In addition to their work with Simon, Ladysmith Black Mambazo has recorded with numerous artists from around the world, including Stevie Wonder, Dolly Parton, The Wynans, Julia Fordham, George Clinton, The Corrs and Ben Harper.

Tickets are $10 for Fitchburg State College students and visitors under 18 years old, $28 for the general public, and $28 for seniors, and are available at the college's box office or by mail order. For more information, call the Weston Box Office at (978) 665-3347 Monday through Friday 12:30- 3:30 p.m.; information is also available by calling (978) 665-3709. The event is part of the college's CenterStage program.