Impakt Events director Soldier Lucius Banda has assured festival goers that there will be no holiday for Sand Music Festival in spite of challenges on the market.
Lucius said this on Sunday at the end of the 13th edition of the three-day Sand Music Festival held at Sunbird Nkopola in Mangochi.
The festival has received criticism from some quarters who argue it lacked vice and depth compared to previous editions.
Lucius admitted that the depth of this year’s festival was wanting.
“We need to accept the reality as some people have said. The vibe was less because we had to make do with the resources at our disposal,” the musician said.
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He added that previous editions had been successful because sponsorship was adequate.
“This year, the main issue was Cyclone Freddy; companies, organisations and people focused on Cyclone Freddy response. We also took up a role. We would not expect people to prioritise entertainment,” Lucius said.
On the other hand, he complained that patrons struggled to access money at the festival as mobile money firms were not available at the venue.
On artists being announced and failing to show up, Lucius maintained that it was due to forex challenges.
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“We had Spyro and Kenyatta Hill on the posters because we had already made headway as regards the agreement, but things did not work out, hence switching our focus to South Africa,” he said.
Lucius said they had hoped that Kenyatta Hill would make it until the 11th hour when they replaced him with South African singer Makhadzi.
Sand Music Festival came barely five months after Impakt Events had hosted the inaugural Sand Arts Festival in Mangochi, which also featured other art forms such as poetry and drama.
