There are songs that do more than play in the background. They take you somewhere.

A familiar opening note can transport you to a university residence, a first love, a family celebration or a dance floor shared with friends who have long since gone their separate ways.

That is the feeling organisers of the inaugural Lehika Soul Picnic hope to capture when music lovers gather at Cookes Lake in Mahikeng on Saturday, 19 September.

With a denim and white dress code, the event is shaping up as more than another date on the entertainment calendar. It is an invitation to slow down, reconnect and revisit the music that became the soundtrack to a generation.

For co-founder and event director Thato Mathe, nostalgia is at the heart of the concept.

“We created Lehika Soul Picnic because we wanted to bring back that feeling of hearing a song and immediately being transported to another time in your life,” Mathe said.

It is a familiar experience for anyone who has ever heard an old favourite and suddenly remembered exactly where they were, who they were with and what life felt like at the time.

Mathe believes music has an almost unmatched ability to preserve those memories.

“You hear a song and think, ‘This was our varsity song,’ or ‘This was playing when I met my husband or wife.’ It could even be your late mother’s or father’s favourite song,” she said.

That emotional connection has shaped the event’s musical journey.

The day will begin with soul before moving into Afro-soul, nostalgic old-school Limpopo sounds and, eventually, old-school house. More than 10 artists and DJs are expected to perform, including Malaika, Revolution and Joe Nina, with Babalwa M adding a contemporary voice to the line-up.

The selection is deliberate.

Rather than chasing the newest musical trend, organisers want to celebrate songs that have already earned a place in people’s lives.

“The difference is the feeling. We are celebrating music that has already lived with us,” Mathe said.

With September also marking Heritage Month, the timing gives the picnic an added sense of cultural resonance.

But Lehika is not intended to feel like a history lesson. It is designed to be lived.

Guests are encouraged to arrive in denim and white, settle beside the lake, share food, catch up with friends, sing along to forgotten favourites and dance without worrying about what is currently trending.

Mathe describes the target audience as the “grown and nostalgic crowd”, although anyone who loves soul, Afro-soul and old-school sounds is welcome.

It is for couples, friends, former classmates, colleagues and old crews who have spent years promising to get together.

“It’s especially for the person who hears the first few seconds of an old song and immediately says, ‘Wait, don’t change that song!’” she said.

Beyond entertainment, the organisers hope the picnic will leave an economic footprint in Mahikeng by working with local and female-owned businesses across areas such as marketing, printing, security and other event services.

The ambition extends beyond a single Saturday.

Organised by Eventive Projects in collaboration with Ubuntu Moments, Lehika Soul Picnic is being positioned as the beginning of an annual September tradition in Mahikeng.

“Our dream is for Lehika Soul Picnic to become an annual tradition, something people already know belongs on their September calendar,” Mathe said.

And perhaps that is the real promise of Lehika.

Long after the stage lights go down and the picnic tables are cleared, a song heard beside Cookes Lake may one day become another memory.

Another moment when music does what it has always done best: bring people together, make them feel something and give them a story to remember.

“Put on your denim and white and come experience good music that grew with us,” Mathe said.

For Mahikeng, the soundtrack to a new September tradition may just be beginning.