George Kalukusha, Annemarie Quinn faceoff in JCC concert
Musician George Kalukusha, who is based in Lilongwe on Friday night performed at Jacaranda Cultural Centre in Blantyre for the first time sharing the stage with female singer Annemarie Quinn, who is from United Kingdom.
For Annemarie, it was not the first time to perform at JCC as last year she also starred at the same venue sharing the stage with Code Sangala better known as C.O.
Annemarie and C.O. are currently working together in music against malaria project that seeks to raise funds for the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre.
The concert attracted a sizeable audience that enjoyed the performances of the two artists, who shone in vocals as well as playing the guitar.
However, due to other technical issues, the concert delayed and started an hour later.
Annemarie, who seems to be raising her bar in music since she came to Malawi, opened the concert as she warmed up the stage for Kalukusha, who was the headliner.
The female singer and guitarist, has already made known her potential with razor-sharp performances at Lake of Stars Festival Set It Off show in Zomba last month and Tumaini Festival in Dowa in November last year.
Annemarie in her performances has proved that female musicians need not restrict themselves to voices only but they can also stand out in instruments.
She announced, during her performance, that she was currently working on an album adding that some of the songs she has composed have been inspired by the beauty of the country and its people.
“Artists such as Code Sangala have helped me a lot in some of the songs and I am looking forward to releasing this album,” she said.
In her collection for the concert, Annemarie also had time to drop a song titled ‘Osadandaula’ which has lyrics in English while Chichewa lyrics stand out on the chorus.
Osadandaula means ‘Don’t worry’ in English and Annemarie said this is a song of encouragement and that through it she also wanted to show that she was making strides in learning Chichewa.
Kalukusha continued from where Annemarie had left off and interacted well with the audience and there were moments in his songs when he asked people to sing along.
There were slow songs that demanded the audience to listen attentively and there were also moments when he combined music with poetry.
“It was great performing here and it was a good turn out,” Kalukusha said.
He promised to come to the venue after he left the audience hanging as they wanted him to keep performing.
On what he was up to for now, Kalukusha who has also had stints performing at Tumaini Festival among others, said:
“I am working on a debut album. I have a couple of EPs but again I also want to put up more shows.”
The musician said he was also working very hard to collaborate with different artists.
“Those with good ideas can come and we work together. I am also looking at introducing music education and work with young people and I have already spoken to Jacaranda team,” Kalukusha said.
He added that he was passionate about music education and that he would want to pass on the skills he has learnt.
Kalukusha has been out of the music scene for two years as he completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in live performance at The African School of film and performance in Cape Town, South Africa where his graduation showcase ‘Ulendo’ won best music performance.
JCC and Maison de la France Deputy Director, Daisy Belfield, hailed the two artists for their outstanding performances.
“George has performed at different platforms as well as Annemarie that is why we are priviledged to have them. This place is open to all artists and all we want is to expose Malawian talent,” Belfield said.
She said the place was open to all people of all walks and that the proceeds they raise at the venue go to Jacaranda School for Orphans at Chigumula.
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