Madalitso Band, the duo of Yobu Maligwa and Yosefe Kalekeni from the outskirts of Mtandire in Lilongwe, alongside their international manager Neil Nayar left the country Thursday for their debut world tour that will take them to as far as United States of America.
Their world tour begins in Europe and will see them performing in top festivals.
The group, whose global feat is huge following their power packed performances in five European tours since 2017, is expected to perform in close to 11 countries staging close to 80 shows.
“This means more for Madalitso Band and for them it is all about selling Malawi to the world through their authentic music,” Nayar, who is also a musician, said.
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He said this is the group’s longest tour and that they will be back in Malawi in October.
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Apart from United States of America where they will be performing for the first time, the other countries they are set to star include France, Scotland, Hungary and England.
Armed with an acoustic guitar and the one-stringed guitar known as Babatoni that has always conquered people’s hearts with its sound, Madalitso has remained faithful to their identity of authentic music that zeroes in on issues such as love and corruption.
The decade spent roaming the streets as a pair and perfecting their home-made instruments and vibrant playing style, seems to have paid off since their debut international outing at Sauti za Busara Festival in Zanzibar, Tanzania six years ago.
Kalekeni said the national tour they held in April this year was part of their farewell ahead of the world tour.
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“The strides that we have made on the international scene are huge, there are people, who are in the country today because of our sound and we are happy that we have contributed to uplifting tourism,” he said.
Maligwa said they were ready for the world tour and excited to perform for the first time in United States of America.
“I never knew that I would go to as far as America in my life but music is taking me there. The country needs to support artists,” he said.
Emmanuel Kamwenje, the band’s local manager since 2008 said they were happy to be flying the country’s flag through music.
Madalitso Band has two albums to their credit namely Fungo La Nyemba and Wasalala.
The group leaves for the world tour barely a week after Balaka-based group Alleluya Band also left for Europe where they will hold over 40 shows in Italy and then two concerts in Portugal.
