Local artistes perform in empty Amphitheatre

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LAST week there was a stampede at Jah Prayzah’s show in Mutare after organisers of the event announced that the venue was full to capacity and turned some fans away.

LAST week there was a stampede at Jah Prayzah’s show in Mutare after organisers of the event announced that the venue was full to capacity and turned some fans away.

It is reported that by 11 pm the show had been completely sold out and they were forced to let other people go because the facilities at the venue could only accommodate 1 500 people. Alcohol beverages ran out before midnight, forcing music lovers to dance to the music without beer all night.

Salute and eat your heart out! The boy is local, he is not Oskido and his Kalawa entourage. Just what do they do right that every other artiste and all other regions fail to grasp? Maybe that also explains why Sandra Ndebele recorded the track Love YeMuShona neMuNdebele with him. If you can’t beat them join them. Sandra’s decision makes more business than creative sense.

There has been a lot of debate on social sites about the song, but the fish is there for all to fry. Sometimes when two big and popular names come together it does not matter how they sing or what they sing, or does it?

Bulawayo hosted the launch of National Culture Week celebrations which turned out to be a damp squib. In my opinion the whole launch was well organised and supported by local artistes including a march from the city centre to the venue, the Bulawayo Amphitheatre, performances by various groups of renown, and exhibition by various artists and companies.

The who is who in Zimbabwe’s arts fraternity was in attendance including the minister of the concerned ministry Andrew Langa who was guest of honour.

Respected names like Elvas Mari, Nicholas Moyo, Paul Bayethe Damasane and Pathisa Nyathi, among others, were there to witness. Only one thing was missing. The public, the masses for who all this was meant for were served in absentia. Artistes took turns to watch and support each other as has become the norm in the region.

Albeit everybody seeming to know each other at most of these shows especially in Bulawayo; where are the audiences? Who is to blame for their absence? Most of the time events and shows are organised and locals are clueless.

They don’t even seem to know nor care about what is happening where. This audience apathy ghost will haunt Bulawayo and surrounding regions for a long time to come.

Bulawayo is not unlucky when it comes to hosting events of note in the country. Is the general public aware that in December the city will host the 2014 Supreme Council for Sport in Africa Under-20 Youth Games that will see an estimated 4 000 athletes descending on the City of Kings and Queens?

The silence is deafening and worrying. There just is no vibe, no anticipation, no visibility and virtually no excitement about the forthcoming games.

Everybody seems disinterested in the games and I believe it’s really getting late. At least by now every Linda and Ncube in Bulawayo should be knowing that the city will host such a prestigious occasion.

The walls, the banners and billboards should be shouting the herald of visitors to come in December. Artistes and venues should be telling us of shows and events they will be hosting during the time, but alas nothing of this sort is happening in Bulawayo. Surely the people will not celebrate occasions they don’t know neither will they flock to events that have been poorly advertised.

Where are the songs recorded for the games? I remember one that had artistes hopping to studio this and that, but after it was recorded I have not heard anything about it! We never learn. Come December, we will be reading stories of failure and poor attendance yet again.

On the brighter side though, the Broadcasting Authority of Zimbabwe has released a list of radio stations which have been shortlisted for local radio licences.

18 applications were shortlisted and what caught my attention is that of the four shortlisted Bulawayo radio stations three of them are seeking to operate under the same name, SKIES or SKYZ.

The city has four applicants which are Fairtalk Communications (Pvt) Ltd trading as Skyz FM, Skies Radio (Pvt) Ltd trading as Skies Radio, Carryslot (Pvt) Ltd trading as Skyz FM and Masego Multimedia (Pvt) Ltd trading as Bulawayo’s Finest.

Coincidence? What’s in a name? We Need New Names, wrote NoViolet. The game is on, the truth is the people are dying for new content, fresh ideas and good alternatives, exciting programming, consistent and fair reportage and identity conscious television and radio stations.

Happy Africa Day! Do something African today to celebrate who you are. Keep walking.

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