Saturday Blantyre gets a double shot of the arts as it will experience a symphony of spoken word and sounds.
The day will start at Nyambadwe Ground in Ndirande with the inaugural Sounds of Malawi Festival which stems from the Sounds of Malawi Acoustic sessions that take place at Alliance Francaise de Blantyre every Thursday before poet Yankho Seunda takes to the stage at Apollo Auditorium in the night to unveil his @35 album.
The two events will complement each other as people will first get soaked with sounds from legendary musicians at Nyambadwe Ground in the afternoon before sampling verses at Apollo.
The Sounds of Malawi Festival which will feature Giddes Chalamanda, Boniface Ndamera and Lucky Stars Band, Kukana Kuba Kasambwe, Waliko Makhala, Keturah, Jacaranda African Ensemble and Jaca Kids coincides with the release of the Sounds of Malawi Volume One album produced by United States of America Grammy Award nominee producer Harlan Steinberger.
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The album which brings the country’s musical heritage into focus features several artists.
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Alliance Francaise de Blantyre Director Luc Deschamps yesterday called upon people to patronise the free-of-charge festival.
Ahead of the festival there was a pop-up with Kukana Kuba Kasambwe and Harlan going around Ndirande to invite people to the event that has also seen Blantyre City Council coming in to utilise the space to disseminate messages of cleanliness in the commercial city.
At Apollo Auditorium, Seunda, a former chairperson of Vilipanganga Poetry Movement, said @35 means a poetic milestone for the nation, a dream coming to life, an expression that can be stopped and an inspiration to the next generation of poets.
“This is a win for poetry. The collection @35 is addressing matters from a mature perspective premised from the fact that 35 years is a minimum age requirement for a person to contest for a presidential position,” the poet said.
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He said people should brace themselves for a poetic experience of lifetime bred from rare poetic gems.
“People should come to enjoy poetry and fall in love with literature that entertains, informs and educate one more time,” Seunda said.
Apart from the headliner, other poets set to perform on a night chockfull of events in the commercial city include legendary Benedicto Wokomaatani Malunga, Robert Chiwamba, Isaac Kadankowa and Refilwe.
And to keep up with Africanism, the dress code for the launch is African Elegance attire.
