The Sunday Mail
Takudzwa Chihambakwe
ONE way to know if summer is in full swing in Zimbabwe is the blossoming of the purple Jacaranda flowers.
The occurrence will be celebrated this year through a new musical extravaganza, the Jacaranda Music Festival, which debuts the centenary celebrations of African icon, Nelson Mandela.
A brainchild of music promotion company, Ngoma Nehosho, the festival takes place at Hellenic Sports Club on October 6, 2018.
“The festival seeks to bring different music genres on one stage, creating a vibrant environment for music lovers in Zimbabwe. We are here purely because of the rhythm and the beat. We love music,” said Ngoma Nehosho founder, Walter Wanyanya.
Confirmed acts for the festival are South Africa’s Micasa and Yvonne Chaka Chaka, and top Zimbabwean cultural ambassadors Mokoomba and Dr Oliver Mtukudzi. Organisers have promised to reveal six more acts.
“South African musicians are part of our headline acts on this debut edition mostly because we are also joining many Africans in celebrating Mandela’s centenary celebrations. This will be a chance for those that have been positively inspired by the statesmen to celebrate the icon who would have turned 100 this year.
“Furthermore, we chose these acts from a point of diversity and bringing a well-rounded musical experience for each person that will come. We also want to see everyone dancing to different rhythms and each of the acts on stage will bring something different.”
Wanyanya highlighted that they have gathered enough knowledge to make them strong in the industry.
“We have been working closely with other festivals all over the world for so many years with the goal to learn. We do not have to reinvent the festival wheel.
“The world is full of vibrant music festivals and we really needed to submit ourselves as students to some of the best in the world and then bring that knowledge back home,” he explained.
Meanwhile, Wanyanya explained the postponement of the all ladies concept that he had put foward.
“The all ladies event didn’t happen this year because the headline act I had for the show suffered a bereavement in her family, so I decided to postpone the show. It will be back next year during the Women’s month,” he said.
