‘Miombo Magic’ music fiesta ends in style Mokoomba on stage
Mokoomba on stage

Mokoomba on stage

Arts Correspondent

Musician Jah Prayzah and local internationally-acclaimed group Mokoomba closed the fifth edition of the “Miombo Magic” music fiesta in style on Sunday with their acoustic and superbly choreographed sets which enabled them to deliver the best performances in the Christon Bank bush in Mazowe, 30 kilometres north of Harare.This time around Miombo Magic was bigger and better. The festival is traditionally a two-day fiesta but this time around it was three days, over 50 bands rocked the stage from last Friday to Sunday.

Mokoomba performed their acoustic set for the first time on an outdoor stage and had the crowd begging for more. Then Jah Prayzah brought his high energy performance, culminating in his superbly choreographed and dramatic exit from the stage.

Mokoomba band manager Marcus Gora said the group was happy to make their third appearance and performance at the festival. He said Miombo Magic is growing each year and fast becoming the biggest festival in the country.

“This year’s Miombo Magic was different and powerful, It was our third time to play at Miombo Magic and it is always great to be invited back to play. Miombo is growing into a favourite festival for a diverse Zimbabwean audience, bringing the best local acts and a great and comfortable, family friendly environment,” said Gora.

The three-day music festival came with on-site camping for revellers and the outstanding feature of this year’s edition was the sheer number and diversity of different bands, ranging from jazz and pop through to reggae and rock.

The opening last Friday was just memorable with over 300 people in attendance, all the bands on the opening night wowed the crowd but Vee Mukarati and Ammara Brown were just exceptional as they turned around the atmosphere and got people in the weekend party mood.

The two gave an energetic performance that the revellers felt and believed that surely Miombo Magic was here. They can be credited for setting the tone for other musicians that followed him.

Event organiser, Gus Le Breton said this was a festival in which every single artist brought themselves up on to a different level performance wise. He was thrilled by how people thronged the bush and confirmed this will go down in history as the biggest Miombo Magic gig.

“The opening night was just phenomenal at first the rains wanted disperse the people but it soon stopped, it was only to welcome us to the 2016 Miombo Magic. We had around 300 people who came through for the opening night and finished around 5AM in the morning only to resume by 10AM that very morning for the second night of the festival, so the atmosphere was out of this world.

“Miombos overall theme is a celebration of the breadth and depth of musical talent in our wonderful country, that’s why we increased the number of days and the bands also. I doubt if any single stage has hosted so many Zimbabwean acts in a 48 hour period. Around 50 bands,” said Gus Le Breton.

Evicted band took the opportunity to film their “Ndoita Sei” video on the second night and the crowd was just into the act that they were just performing themselves, Transit crew also impressed on the second day of the festival to a point that the crowd just could not let them come off stage, they kept shouting for more. Unfortunately the king of Zim Hip Hop Tehn Diamond could not make it, as his car broke down on his way back from a show in Grweru and could arrive in time for his scheduled performance.

Bulawayo tribal house music outfit, Djembe Monks also came out of their shells and gave a very energetic performance shutting down the second day of the festival in style.

Big names at this edition of Miombo Magic were Rob Macson, Vee Mukarati, Ammara Brown, Evicted, Victor Kunonga, Arnd Carstens, Gemma Griffiths, Tariro Negitare, Rob Burrell, Mokoomba and Jah Prayzah.

Miombo Magic Music Festival is a family festival that began in 2012.

Miombo is a word used to describe the woodlands that characterise much of the Zimbabwean highveld where the festival is annually hosted.

The festival was initiated to raise money for the Christon Bank Primary School, and since then, it has continued to run annually for the sole purpose.

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