The Makokoba Music Festival is adding a third day to next year’s edition after crowds flocked to its return this year, leaving organisers convinced that two days were not enough for the revived celebration.
Held under the theme Home Grown, the festival brought together music, dance and community activities, drawing audiences of different age groups while showcasing a mix of styles from across Bulawayo’s arts scene.
The festival, which had previously been held before going into a hiatus, returned this year with a two-day programme featuring artists from different musical backgrounds.
Festival organiser Christensen Mapuranga said the response had exceeded expectations, with audiences coming from beyond Makokoba.
The festival also highlighted the need for greater participation by female artists, with Acquilla K and Abigail Mabuza among the women on this year’s line-up.
Mapuranga said the number of female artists applying remained low, making it necessary to encourage more women to enter the arts and take up available opportunities.
“When these opportunities come and you don’t have the females applying, then we have to do what I can call headhunting,” Mapuranga said.
“It portrays the wrong picture that maybe we don’t consider gender as an important aspect of fairness in selections.”
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Next year, the festival will run for three days, with the final day dedicated to gospel music.
Mapuranga said several gospel artists had applied this year, but programming them alongside a predominantly rhumba line-up had proved difficult.
Beyond performances, organisers plan to introduce capacity-building workshops covering how artists apply for opportunities, professional communication, stage presence, sound, sound checks and live instrumental performance.
The community clean-up campaign will also return, while the schools tournament is expected to expand from four boys’ soccer teams to include netball for girls.
Mapuranga said the broader vision was to make the festival part of Makokoba’s cultural identity while creating opportunities for local artists.
“We said the festival is part of our way of thinking about Makokoba for art, for giving opportunity to artists who are from Makokoba and trying to respect their community,” he said.
“We also hope that we will get a lot more partners and new people to come on board to help us achieve our goal of making Makokoba Music Festival one of the best festivals, not just in Zimbabwe, but in the region.”
