Listen to our music!

Next Shows

  • May 31
    Madiba Restaurant, Brooklyn, NY,  Brooklyn
     
  • Jul 5
    National Womens Music Festival, Madison,  Madison
     
  • Jul 13
    University of Pennsylvania,  Philadelphia
     
  • Oct 24
    Acadia University, Nova Scotia, Canada,  Wolfville
     
  • Oct 25
    Nova Scotia Music Educators Conference,  Hammonds Plains
     

Donate to our Humanitarian Work

Latest CD: Double Take

Soul-sisters Abigail Kubeka, Dolly Rathebe and Sharon Katz grew up in South Africa under the old apartheid regime and had to hide from the police to perform their music.  

Double Take shows how powerful voices can never be silenced. These songs go far beyond questioning the stories we're told to believe; they make you want to dance, laugh, cry, shout and hug somebody.

 

Pata Pata Video

Concerts - Film - Educational Programs to Celebrate

Sharon Katz & The Peace Train - 20th Anniversary!!!!

We were driven by the idea of using our music to break down the barriers of apartheid and help Nelson Mandela promote his vision of a new South Africa with equal rights for all.

And it worked! 

In 1993, we formed a 10-piece, mixed-race band; added a 500-voice youth choir that represented all the racial and cultural groups of South Africa; and invited our friends Ladysmith Black Mambazo to join us.

We toured all across South Africa by train - The Peace Train - and gave performances at every stop along the way.   

With TV & radio crews on board to document what was happening, millions of people attended the performances or heard our message from the media.

Our motto was, "When Voices Meet, All Things Are Possible."  A few months later, South Africa held its first democratic election and The Peace Train performed at the victory party.

That was 20 years ago, and now filmmakers Rob Stoller and Chris Newhard are making a documentary about the effects The Peace Train had on the country and the people who participated.

We'd love YOU to get involved in the project! 

Please share the exciting news with everyone you know and invite us to your community in 2013-14 to show the film, do a concert, and inspire hope.


        

At Mandela's 75th Birthday Party        On tour with The Peace Train choir

      

 With Ladysmith Black Mambazo             With KwaZulu Musicians

Our Humanitarian Projects - Our work continues in the USA and South Africa. We're working in association with universities, public school districts and arts organizations to enrich the lives of students all across America. In South Africa, the school and community arts center we built has now added vegetable gardens to improve the health of the children and vocational training to help young adults find meaningful employment. We're also continuing to support the education and well-being of HIV positive orphans as well as training and job creation for young adults.

  1.  
    "As a South African musician growing up during the terrible days of apartheid, I always found that music had a way of bringing people together, regardless of race, culture or beliefs. As a teenager, I used to sneak out to the African townships to play music with my friends there, and when Nelson Mandela was released from prison, I performed at all his rallies, singing about unity and a peaceful transition to democracy in South Africa.

    2.

 In 1993, I formed a 500-voice, multiracial and multicultural performing group to show what a "normal" country could be. We toured throughout South Africa by train - The Peace Train - and used our music to promote our country's first democratic elections. 

Since then, we've been performing worldwide, releasing albums, and conducting workshops in schools, colleges and communities to promote multi-cultural experiences and end violence.  Performances can be as a solo, duo, 3-6 piece band, or the band with dancers.

We’ve also been supporting projects to take care of South African children whose families have been affected by joblessness and the HIV/AIDS crisis.  We built a school, training center and performing arts venue for an impoverished community; started gardens and nutrition programs; and supported vocational training as well as tertiary education.

So come on board The Peace Train. We're really looking forward to seeing and hearing from you!"

          ~Sharon