A concert of high class
Youthful musicians Patience Namadingo and Faith Mussa gave out a sublime performance during their special concert at Chrichi Multipurpose Gardens in Chitawira, Blantyre on Sunday afternoon.
It was a concert which brought out the best from the two artists and they showed during the concert which received its fair share of audience that has a passion for music.
Some people expressed concern with the entry fee ahead of the concert, saying it was on the higher side but for those who patronised this special concert said the K3,000 fee was not even worth it for the sound they sampled on the day.
“To me this was an international concert no doubt about that. I have been to concerts but Faith Mussa and Patience Namadingo gave us masterclass acts. This is the way to go and the venue itself is just good and convenient for concerts and family entertainment,” said gospel musician Roy K, who warmed the stage alongside Davis Njobvu.
The only setback on the day was that there was no Escom power and in its absence Entertainers Promotions which provided the equipment used the generator which could not manage to supply the adequate power.
As a result with inadequate power from the generator, the sound was not stable as it could go up and down during the performances.
But still more this could not keep away the audience from enjoying power packed performances that started off with Njobvu and Roy K before the main headliners Mussa and Namadingo took to the stage.
Mussa was the first to hit the stage taking the audience on a roller coaster journey of his music and backed by Apostle Enesia Chitheka Lewis’ daughter Esther, the sound was just perfect for the ear.
He performed for close to an hour, giving out his best in vocals, showing his skills on the guitar and even danced attracting the audience to the dance floor when he performed the song ‘Pamudzi Pano.’
This is the song which has a traditional element of the country’s music identity and was performed after the artist had belted out ‘Desperate.’
He then left the stage for Namadingo, who continued from where Mussa had left off and he too did not disappoint.
Namadingo proved he is a good composer as he performed new songs that were not at all strange to the audience.
Unlike Mussa who played the vocals and the guitar at the same time during his act, Namadingo concentrated on the vocals and was backed by the same band that starred with Mussa featuring drummer Amos Mlolowah and bass guitarist Ephraim Chambota.
Namadingo engaged the audience in the songs as he played around with the lyrics showing the richness of his songs.
He even took the audience on a long journey through his song ‘Mtendere,’ utilising different genres from rumba to reggae to R&B before finishing off with the country’s genre.
The climax of the concert saw Namadingo and Mussa joined by Njobvu come together as they performed a cover song ‘Timba’ originally done by late Evison Matafale but they played it in their own reggae style.
Mussa described the concert as wonderful and that it gave them a different experience and also heaped praise on the owner of the venue Wales Chakukuma for hosting them.
“We wanted people to come and appreciate our music and we are satisfied. This is just the beginning and people should look forward for more,” he said.
Namadingo said he was excited with the way the concert went.
“People have seen it for themselves that Malawian artists can do it. This is a successful show which we have been talking about for so long but now it has come to pass and there is more to come,” he said.
Chakukuma says through the venue he wants to help uplift arts in the country and that this is just the beginning as people will sample more classic performances on the venue which is open to different activities.
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