Madalitso Band, the duo of Yobu Maligwa and Yosefe Kalekeni from the outskirts of Mtandire in Lilongwe have made another huge step in their music career as they set to debut at MTN Bushfire Festival in eSwatini.
MTN Bushfire Festival is one of the renowned, biggest and unique festivals in Africa and it brings unique and eclectic music line-ups rooted in a pulsating celebration of diversity and spirit of inclusion.
This year, the festival to be held in May will be headlined by Nigerian global music sensation Nneka.
Apart from Nneka, some of the artists performing at the festival include South African acts Thandiswa Mazwai, Makhadzi and 2024 Grammy nominee Musa Keys, Lesotho singer and songwriter, Maleh, Eswatini’s Bholoja and Legendary Stewart Sukuma & Banda Nkhuvu from Mozambique. The other acts who will grace the festival’s stage are Fetén Fetén from Spain and Réunion Island’s DJ Sebb.
Local manager Emmanuel Kamwenje said Thursday that this the first time for Madalitso Band to perform at MTN Bushfire.
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“Madalitso Band has performed in top festivals but this is the first time to star at such a festival. The breakthrough for Madalitso Band to kickoff its international outings started at Sauti za Busara Festival and now here we are talking about MTN Bushfire,” Kamwenje said.
He said the development also means that African festivals were opening up for Madalitso Band and that they were looking forward to more.
“We hope to get a spot as well with Lake of Stars, festivals in Zambia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Uganda and West Africa. This is not for Madalitso Band but for Malawi, we need to export our music and that is through such outings,” he said.
Last year the group also represented the country well when it went on a world tour starting in Europe before debuting in United States of America (USA) where they held over 20 gigs.
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The group’s international manager Neil Nayar was not readily available for a comment Thursday.
Madalitso Band also held gigs in Tanzania last year.
