THE BROTHER MOVES ON

The ghost inside the magic, the stranglers of an innocent idea of bringing performance art to its knees through costume, music and storytelling. The Brother Moves On (TBMO) is a Johannesburg-based performance ensemble that merges music, performance art, and political storytelling into a singular live experience. Rooted in improvisation and guided by a strong conceptual framework, the band explores themes of Black identity, spirituality, migration, and memory. TBMO has built a reputation as one of South Africa’s most innovative and genre-defying acts—blurring the lines between jazz, punk, indigenous music, and avant-garde performance.Their shows are immersive and often ritualistic—featuring costuming, movement, and narrative arcs that transform concerts into multi-sensory experiences. The band have toured Africa and Europe extensively with highlights being their curation and performance at The Barbican Centre as part of the South Africa 30 year democracy celebration, featuring at the Brussels and Berlin Jazz Festival and at home at Bushfire Festival, Cape Town International Jazz Festival, Stellenbosch’s version of the, Montreux Jazz Festival and Sauti Za Busara Festival in Zanzibar.

The Brother and Moves On (TBMO) was founded in 2009 by the late broad-based artist Nkululeko Mthembu and his brother Siyabonga Mthembu. Beginning as a loose art collective including graphic and performance artists, The band is known for their multi-disciplinary live shows in which core members and invited performers take on various roles combining story telling, theatre, drawing, video installation and other experimental media. The current ensemble includes permanent members Siyabonga Mthembu, Zelizwe Mthembu, Sakhile Nkosi(bass) and Simphiwe Tshabalala(drums) and revolving members Mthunzi Mvubu (alto saxophone), Lebogang Komane(trumpet), ), Solethu Madasa(keys) and Ofentse Sebula(tenor saxophone).