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Alexio Kawara

Sophia Chese Arts Correspondent
Afro Jazz crooner Alexio Kawara left the country on Friday for his maiden tour of the United States of America where he will be performing at the Rock for Human Rights concerts featuring American rock star Wil Seabrook.Rock for Human Rights was launched with the intent to bring human rights awareness to diverse audiences including college students using the power of music, visual media and social networks.

It targets audiences across the United States with a series of concerts featuring live music and this year will see Alexio being the first Zimbabwean to perform.

Alexio and Seabrook will launch their tour with a show at the Beaufort Community College in Washington, North Carolina on September 18 before they travel to the Turnage Theatre on September 20.

The tour will move on to the Springfield College in Massachusetts on September 22 and the next day they will be at Clinton Community College in New York.

The other tour dates include September 24 (Jamestown Community College, NY), Chatham University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (September 25) while they will move to Ashland University in Ohio the following day.

They will wrap up their act on September 27 at the Mohawk Valley Community in Utica, New York. In an interview before leaving the country, Alexio said he would take the opportunity to learn more about the music industry during the tour.

“I am really excited and at the same anxious as this is my first trip overseas but it is also an opportunity for me to learn more about the industry. I believe in music and the tour is an opportunity to be educated on how the Americans treat and plan their music,” he said.

Alexio’s manageress Farirai Chavura said the tour was an opportunity for the crooner to open more doors in his career.

“We are really elated that the organisers chose us to represent Zimbabwe in such a noble cause and Alexio would take this opportunity to be Zimbabwe’s ambassador and teach the world the goodness of our music,” she said.

Chavura said Alexio was chosen for the tour after the organisers listened to his latest album “Tose”.

“Tose” has also been nominated for the Zimbabwe Music Awards in the Best Afro Jazz Album for the year.

Alexio, who fronts the Shades of Black, is currently working on his fourth album “Oyi” which is set for release in December this year.

He has already released one single from the album called “Zvazvinhu”.

Songs from the upcoming album, which features Roki on the song “Chakaipa” and Beitbridge-based LT on “Zvazvinhu” has been warmly received during live shows.

Another song called “Nehana” is also a potential hit from the album.

Seabrook, in a audio message on the tour website, said he was inspired to launch the tour by a friend who asked him if he could come up with music which will educate the public on human rights.

“I fell in love with the idea and figured out how I will incorporate and sharing with my audiences then I just came up with the idea of this tour. This is the first international tour. For the first time I will be teaming up with Zimbabwe’s afro jazz sensation Alexio who also has passion for music and human rights as I am.

“We will be performing for college students and give away free booklets on human rights to them because they are the ones who are to decide what the future will look like,” he said.