A manufacturing heritage meet in a celebration of legacy, mentorship and passing opportunity forward
Firestone closed Heritage Month by marked nine decades in South Africa with a celebration of music, manufacturing and legacy at Johannesburg’s music and cultural hub.
On 30 September 2026, music pioneer Oskido joined award-winning singer-songwriter Zoë Modiga and award-winning Afrikaans artist Bernice West at Untitled Basement in Braamfontein for an intergenerational conversation about the people who opened doors for them, the responsibility to create opportunities for emerging talent and the work required to build a legacy that endures.
Held under the theme Passing Down the Baton, the discussion explored the artists' journeys, the experiences that shaped their careers and the role younger South Africans play in preserving and reshaping the country's musical culture.
Music has been part of Firestone's story for almost a century, beginning with The Voice of Firestone, which first aired on NBC Radio on 3 December 1928 featuring celebrated classical and Broadway performers. In 1949, it became one of the first programmes broadcast simultaneously on radio and television. Idabelle Firestone, wife of founder Harvey S. Firestone, composed "In My Garden" and "If I Could Tell You,” Which served as the programme's theme music.
In South Africa, initiatives such as Firestone Kombi Karaoke have carried that connection into festival experiences. Also, Firestone began using music as a local brand activation platform in 2018, including an appearance at the Oppikoppi music festival that year. The anniversary gathering in Braamfontein added a local, intergenerational chapter to this history.
For Oskido, whose career has helped shape South African popular music and create pathways for successive generations of artists over more than three decades, longevity comes down to a simple principle: consistency. “You have to keep putting in the work, adapt to change and create opportunities for others along the way,” said Oskido.
Oskido also spoke about mentorship, creating opportunities for emerging artists, and staying open to learning from those who come after you. His reflections echoed Firestone’s own South African journey. The brand began local manufacturing in Port Elizabeth, now Gqeberha, in 1936, when the first South African-made Firestone tyre rolled off the production line.
Zoë Modiga reflected on drawing inspiration from the artists who came before her while bringing her own voice to contemporary South African music. She described music as an act of service rooted in its audience's lived experiences. Linking her craft to Firestone's journey, she said: "Music is literally the same thing. You're in service of people, because the stories are theirs. Staying connected to people is what allows work to remain meaningful across generations.”
Her approach to legacy is both practical and philosophical. In the event footage, Modiga explains how she invites emerging performers to share her stages and reach wider audiences, adding that their energy reconnects her with the drive that shaped her own beginnings.
Bernice West reflected on music’s role in keeping culture and language alive. Her work in Afrikaans shows how artists can preserve a distinctive cultural inheritance while creating songs that connect listeners across language and background. She spoke about using music to preserve culture and heritage, particularly the Afrikaans language. She emphasised the importance of keeping cultural traditions alive while recognising music's power to bring people together across languages and backgrounds.
Jacques Rikhotso, Regional Vice President - Bridgestone, Africa Middle East, said the conversation captured the thinking behind the milestone and the link between Firestone's heritage and its future.
"Firestone's 90-year journey in South Africa has been shaped by generations of people who have contributed to its legacy. Bringing Oskido, Zoë and Bernice together demonstrated how experience, legacy and new perspectives can build on one another. Just as in music, our responsibility is to recognise the contributions of those who came before us while creating opportunities for the next generation," said Rikhotso.
FS100 returns for a new generation of motorists
Firestone has grown alongside the country's automotive and manufacturing industries, and it used its 90th year to reintroduce the Firestone FS100, part of its continued focus on serving a changing market.
Thandeka Ngoma, Sales Director at Bridgestone EMIA, said the FS100's return reflects the need to stay relevant to a new generation of motorists while remaining true to the brand's purpose of serving society with superior quality.
"Celebrating 90 years also means looking at how we continue to serve our customers. The reintroduction of the FS100 reflects our commitment to making quality tyres accessible to a broader range of motorists, including younger customers entering the market. It is about building on our heritage while responding to the needs of today," said Ngoma.
The celebration closed with a symbaolic handover of the baton from Oskido to Modiga and West, a gesture representing the transfer of knowledge, experience and opportunity, and the freedom of every new generation to reshape what it inherits.
"The baton is a fitting image for this anniversary, but the real work comes after the gesture: sharing knowledge, opening doors and allowing those who inherit a tradition to change it. For artists and businesses alike, that is what longevity demands," concluded Rikhotso.