In an age of global culture and awareness, it's fitting that a group of performers from South Africa would come to America to help celebrate this country's independence. Considering the oppression under which South Africa existed for so long, it's also nothing short of remarkable.

On a near-perfect Saturday night, the a cappella group Ladysmith Black Mambazo helped L.L. Bean launch its sixth annual summer music series with a spiritual and uplifting open-air performance.

Organizers estimated between 5,000 and 6,000 people attended the free concert, the first of 13 performances in the Bean's series that continues through Labor Day weekend.

On Saturday, the park where the concerts are staged was a swarm of people. Many brought their own lawn chairs, but only a lucky few actually got to enjoy the show from a good vantage point, in terms of their ability to both see and hear.

The rest of us - pretty much anybody who arrived less than a half- hour before the 7:30 start time - settled for any small piece of real estate we could find, including a fence post, rock or even just a slab of black top on a blocked-off street.

But the inconvenience was worth it.

As the group made its way from the back of the sea of people to the stage, fans began rising and cheering. The applause built in a steady crescendo. By the time Ladysmith finally picked its way through the crowd and to the stage, the audience was in full voice and ready for music.

Ladysmith delivered.

Using their vocal chords as instruments, the group created a bed of rhythms and melodies while overlaying lyrics that spoke of spiritual, political and environmental sensitivity and awareness. They danced, clapped and created other rhythmic tricks to supplement their voices, but mostly they just sang richly layered songs.

Best known through a fruitful association with Paul Simon, Ladysmith now is a widely recognized group across the world. It is one of the top cultural exports of a country that for much of our lifetime was associated with the oppression of Apartheid.

How lucky we are they come to America this time of the year to remind us of what it truly means to be free.

Staff Writer Bob Keyes can be contacted at 791-6457 or at:

bkeyes@pressherald.com

REVIEW Ladysmith Black Mambazo Where:L.L. Bean, Freeport When:Saturday, July 3