Banding together to raise funds as Sir Ray seeks treatment for a newly diagnosed cardiac condition, the show’s featured musicians include Ras Sheehama, Savannah Afros, Hot Pocket Band, The Yesterdaye, Dwaine, Ongoma Drum Café, Johnny Louw and The Ells. While Sir Ray is known as a friendly fixture of Windhoek’s live music scene, hitting the keys, exploring mbira punk and as a cool cat at the city’s jazz events, the multitalented musician’s once prolific schedule of performances has slowed to a crawl. “This diagnosis has greatly affected my career because I’ve been put on bed rest.
I’m constantly in and out of hospital and my blood pressure is low which leaves me feeling fatigued,” says Sir Ray. The musician has consequently had to cancel a number of international shows as he will be unable to travel for the next six months. Like many local creatives, the Zimbabwean-born musician does not have medical aid, which makes accessing treatment and medication challenging.
The artists says the cost is compounded by the fact that heart patients react differently to treatment so it is a process for doctors to find therapies that work for his particular body. Sir Ray is currently focused on remaining in the right mental state to deal with his new reality while heeding his doctors’ order of bed rest. To offset the musician’s inability to generate an income, Sir Ray’s friend and owner of Joyful Noise Family Entertainment Centre Genoveve Plaatje is hosting the show.
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