Makasu Band, which made headlines with songs such as ‘Masese’, ‘Napolo’ and ‘Anasiketi’, returned to the stage on Friday night where it tiled last year’s announcement of its comeback with a gig at Ryalls Hotel in Blantyre.
This was the group’s second huge concert since its return following up on the first outing during Sounds of Malawi Acoustic Session at Jacaranda Cultural Centre in Blantyre last year.
On a serene night on Friday, the band members, clad in sky blue shirts and black trousers, excited the audience dominated by the older generation during the free-of-charge concert powered by NBS Bank in partnership with Ryalls Hotel.
Veteran keyboardist and producer Stain Phiri, who starred for both Makasu and Kalimba Band, was also present at the concert.
Featuring experienced members including bassist Peter Likhomo, lead guitarist Collen Ali and trumpeter Wallace Ngoma, the band, led by Kenzo B on vocals, showed potential, dishing out a number of Makasu and Kalimba songs including ‘Song Worth Singing’, ‘Manyazi’, ‘Masese’ and ‘Napolo’.
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There was another special moment when veteran producer Tapps Bandawe, who is one of the frontrunners of the band, invited to the stage ethno-musician Waliko Makhala and Honjo star San B.
San B, real name San Bennet Msokera, told the audience that he had not rehearsed with the band but decided to satisfy the needs of the audience.
And, so, he went on to perform the track ‘Zapadziko’, in which he collaborated win ith the late Saleta Phiri.
After ‘Zapadziko’, Makasu moved on with ‘Pelemende’ which San B grabbed swiftly, only for him not to continue, leaving the audience hanging.
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“I just came to watch Makasu, I did not plan to perform but I was forced to jump on stage after my name was announced. I am happy to see Makasu Band back,” San B said.
He left the stage for Waliko, who went on to serve his short performance before leaving the stage for Makasu Band.
The band’s performance refreshed memories of when Makasu was at its topmost with the likes of the late Bright Livewire Nkhata.
“This is just the beginning, people will see more. We are working on a number of areas and that includes repackaging so that the band can stand out on the market. Otherwise, we are happy that people showed up tonight,” Tapps, who is the Managing Director of Gold Mountain Media, said.
Former Football Association of Malawi Commercial and Marketing Director Limbani Matola said he relished the night.
“Makasu Band reminded me of the past years and it was good to listen to their songs. I hope they will do more; otherwise, this platform was also good for networking,” Matola said.
Some people, while appreciating the band’s performance, felt it did not do justice, in terms of offering more songs by Makasu, but instead dished a few before running with songs by other artists.
“I wanted more songs by Makasu and I call upon them to rehearse more on these songs and even do their own songs,” Bright Kalulu, who travelled all the way from Chigumula, said.
In another development, Charles Nsaku, who has been out of the limelight as he is now based in South Africa, performed at Mibawa Multipurpose Hall in Blantyre on Saturday.
The artist, supported by his brother Dave, performed for some time, treating people to his songs and he also had time to perform tracks by other artists such as Lucky Dube.
