Awilo Longomba out to erase 2017 memories
The last time Congolese star Awilo Longomba of the ‘Karolina’ fame was in Malawi was in 2017 during Sand Music Festival in Salima when his act fell short of the word impressive in his set but now he is back to erase those memories and put things right.
The ‘Coupe Bibamba’ maker, who was expected to jet into the country Thursday, is set to throw another dice of his sound at Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe tomorrow where he will share the stage with Lawi.
He has since promised nothing but the best in a video.
Lawi said he was happy to welcome Awilo, who he described as a global icon and that he has been inspired by his music to be where he is today.
Apart from treating people to his sound, Lawi, said Awilo will also have time to interact with artists in the country through workshops.
“The idea of having international musicians in the country over the years has been a great contribution towards the reshaping of the local industry because Malawians have enjoyed the performances and the arts industry has been very observant in learning for them to up our game,” Lawi said.
The singer and guitarist said within the years this has been the trend but “we have not given much to the arts industry in the sense that workshops have not been there where we are being reshaped”.
“Iron sharpens iron and so we thought of having this musician interact with the fans but also fellow artists so as to learn from him. He is an artist, who has vast knowledge in recording, music production, video production and others,” he said.
Lawi said it was time for the country to change its approach where exposing the arts is concerned.
“We need to shift our mind to make a healthy contribution on how Malawi is perceived and sharing the stage with global iconic figures is something we need to do,” he said.
Ahead of the concert, Lawi Music received K7 million sponsorship from Castel Malawi Limited, which came barely a week after the company also donated K7.5 million towards Takulandilani Malawi International Tourism Expo, which ended yesterday and was officially closed by President Lazarus Chakwera.
Artists showed their best during the closure of the expo and they included a performance from Hear Us Children from Music Crossroads and Piksy and Nyago set.
