Malawian artists delighted to perform with Zahara

As Malawi will be hosting South Africa’s celebrated songster Zahara this month, the country’s musicians have expressed their delight to perform on the same stage with the Loliwe hit-maker.

The singer, who has taken Africa by storm with her 2011 Afro-Soul album titled Loliwe, will be performing in Malawi’s two key cities Blantyre at Comesa Hall and Lilongwe at Crossroads Hotel on 16 and 17 February, respectively, under the auspices of Mango Entertainment and Elegant Resources by ArianaLoise.

Zahara will be performing in the country for the second time after her previous show last September in the capital Lilongwe at the Standard Bank Joy of Jazz concert, where only one local artist, Jazz maestro Wambali Mkandawire had the opportunity to perform alongside her.

This time around, several local acts, including acoustic duo of Edgar ndi Davis, Afro-Pop/R&B singers Dan Lu, Maskal and Lulu as well as reggae outfit The Black Missionaries are billed to rub shoulders with gifted guitarist, born Bulelwa “Spinach” Mkutukana.

“We are honoured to share the stage with Zahara who despite being a relatively new name has taken not just Africa but the world by storm. She has won many awards already and we definitely hope to learn a thing or two from her,” said Davis, an acoustic guitarist.

“For us we are particularly pleased that Zahara uses an acoustic guitar in her performances because this is exactly what we are promoting. I hope Malawian artists will be there to share with this icon and to understand the concept of good music which does not necessary have to be loud and noisy,” added the musician-cum-lawyer.

On the other hand, Davis said the organisers should have accorded an opportunity to other acoustic musicians such as Peter Mawanga, Mvahiwa Hanke and Faith Mussa.

“Whilst I am happy that we were included in the line up of performers I also wish that the organisers had given an opportunity to these guys so that Malawians can also appreciate them.
All in all we are rehearsing very hard and we look forward to a mind blowing show,” he said.

Part of Life singer, Dan Lu described the award-winning Zahara as a great artist and could not hide appreciation to perform on the same platform with the South African vocalist.

“I thank God I will be performing with her. I watched Zahara performing in South Africa once, she has great voice and a great band, and sharing the stage with such artist means a lot to me,” said Dan Lu, who alongside Edgar ndi Davis and Maskal, will be sharing the stage with Zahara during the Blantyre show.

The artist disclosed that he had intensified rehearsals with his Rockers Band to showcase his talent and lift the Malawian flag higher in the midst of the South African musician and her team. Like Davis, Dan Lu said he was looking forward to learning one or two things from Zahara and her band.

Speaking from Lilongwe, Lulu, who will be joining The Black Missionaries to come face-to-face with the Loliwe singer, said it was another step for him to perform along with the visiting musician who scooped eight awards at the 2012 South African Music Awards (SAMA).

“It’s one of the very high profile shows. I’m happy that we will be performing for another type of audience that we don’t perform for, so it’s a good show [and] at same time another step,” said Lulu, who is preparing to launch his album in April.

“I am preparing for my launch so already it’s been weeks of practising. I will just do half of my launch set,” he added.

Meanwhile, Mango Entertainment says tickets to the Comesa show are still selling in Blantyre. The firm had planned to stop selling advance tickets last week but has since extended the sales to the day of the show.

In Lilongwe, Elegant Resources by ArianaLoise, organisers of the Crossroads Hotel show started selling the tickets on Thursday last week and as indicated, they will sell advance tickets until next Thursday.

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