80 concerts set for Madalitso Band as it gears for global tour
Madalitso Band, the Lilongwe-based duo of Yobu Maligwa and Yosefe Kalekeni, is set to hold close to 80 concerts in Europe and United States of America (USA), the group has announced in a press statement.
The group is expected to go on the worldwide tour in June but before the international tour, Madalitso Band, from the peripheries of Mtandire, has decided to warm up with a national tour which will see the duo performing in Blantyre, Lilongwe, Zomba and Nkhata Bay.
Madalitso Band’s international manager Neil Nayar said Wednesday that after five European tours since 2017, this will be the first time for the band to have a national tour.
“The irony is that, for Madalitso Band, it is actually more difficult to put together a tour around Malawi than it is to put a tour around Europe,” Nayar, who is also a musician, said.
He said people in the country now know Madalitso Band following its international exploits and, so, it was important to give them performances.
“People across Malawi now know the name Madalitso Band though many of those people do not know their music or the incredible story of how they played on the streets of Lilongwe for 15 years before a breakthrough onto the international scene in 2017,” Nayar said.
He said on its travels, the band will be stopping off in trading centres to perform with their solar powered system.
“We hope that, by the end of the tour, more people across the country will have connected with the music and story of Madalitso Band,” Emmanuel Kamwenje, the band’s manager since 2008, said.
Kamwenje said another reason for the tour is to collect footage to be used in the group’s upcoming documentary film titled The Banjo Boys, a story about the band which has been in production since 2019.
Tim Delhaes, the film’s producer, said they have filmed Yobu and Yosefe playing music in France and England but have never captured them in the country.
“By following them on a tour across the country, we will be able to showcase the beauty and diversity of Malawi’s nature and culture,” he said.
The group’s performances started Wednesday at Pakachere in Zomba before dating Sounds of Malawi Acoustic Session at Jacaranda Cultural Centre in Blantyre today. The group will also perform at Tranquilo in Cape Maclear in Mangochi, Hideout in Lilongwe, Butterfly Space in Nkhata Bay and Nkhotakota Music Festival on April 15.
