Top US, UK acts for Vic Falls Carnival

Andrew Moyo

AT a time when the local festival scene has been tepid, last week’s launch of this year’s Vic Falls Carnival is sweet music to the ear.

Some of the headline acts were announced at the launch.

Sweeter is the fact that the organisers are thinking big, taking a global scope as opposed to the traditional regional one in their search for headliners. While in the past the line-up has been limited to top African artistes, this time around the promoters have decided to cast their net even wider, highlighting that they will also be bringing in huge international artistes from the United States of America (USA) and the United Kingdom (UK).

“Carnival fans have been asking for big international artistes, which we have been working on for a few months now and will hopefully be announcing something soon,” said festival director Craig Bright in an exclusive interview with The Sunday Mail Society.

“We are chatting to some really huge artistes from the USA and UK for this year’s event so I urge fans to keep an eye out on social platforms for updates. People should also expect more of the performing arts this year.”

The fete will not just have an interesting and refreshing line-up, but it is also set to be bigger and more explosive from a production point of view.

“We are investing a lot of money into the look and feel of this year’s carnival to really amplify the beauty of Africa. This time around we have decided to increase the size of the production, especially on the technical side of things, so expect bigger sound, more lights, and heaps of more action,” he said.

As has become the norm, the headline acts are announced in batches, with the first wave of names coming out last Thursday.

Prince Kaybee, who has become a staple at the fete, his fellow countryman Samthing Soweto, Zafari, Botswana’s Sereetsi & The Natives and Victoria Falls based Flying Bantu make up the list.

It comes as no surprise that Samthing Soweto has been roped in this year’s edition considering that he is among South Africa’s most sought-after vocalists at the moment. Those who have listened to DJ Maphorisa and Kabza De Small’s recent collaborative Amapiano E.P, “Scorpion Kings” can confirm that “Amantombazane”, which features Samthing Soweto, is one of the best tracks on the project.

This soulful voice is behind numerous hits, including Mobi Dixon’s “Abantu”, Sun El-Musician’s “Akanamali”, Black Coffee’s “Ndod’emnyama” and Bantwanas’s “Ngithanda”, to name a few.

More artistes will be announced during the course of the year, with the number set to surpass all previous editions.

Said Bright: “There will be a line-up of thirty strong artistes from all over the world, ranging from high-energy world music bands to some really groovy house music acts. This year, the line-up will surpass all previous years.”

While attendees of the last edition had issues with the steep pricing of food and beverages, there are promises to rectify the situation this time around.

“We are working on making this year’s carnival as cost-effective as possible because last year there were huge issues with the exchange rates between the US dollar and the Zim bond note (RTGS), but we have time to manage it this year, with months to go before the carnival.

“This is a proudly Zimbabwean event and we want as many locals as possible to attend. Details on the ticket pricing structure for locals will be announced in the coming weeks.”