A perfect weekend?
If you love entertainment and having fun, then you have to brace yourself. The entertainment catalogue could not read any better than what is on call this weekend.
More especially if you are a music fan, this weekend it can only be one’s wallet and space that can limit one from getting it all. Depending on where one is standing and one’s perception of things, this weekend’s gig schedule can either be a good thing or a bad one.
For the first time in the country’s history, two of the biggest annual music, art and cultural festivals will be taking place on the same weekend. As the Tumaini Festival will be starting at Dzaleka in Dowa so will the Sand Music Festival at Kabumba Hotel in Salima.
As if that is not enough, the announcement by Zambia’s music hotshot General Kanene that he will be performing in the country over the weekend has further brought confusion on the already complicated scale.
Two things: Kanene has stood up his local fans on more than two occasions in the past as he failed to make it for shows he was listed to perform at. And it has been quite some time since he last performed in the country.
Secondly, the controversial Zambian is one of the foreign acts that are currently trending in the country. After B1 had filled up every entertainment space with his Kwa George hit, it needed his compatriot to silence him. And he indeed did that in some fashion.
His new release Mumala Mubaba has struck the chord with many party goers. His unique music presentation coupled with a deep sense of humour which lies in his narrative continues to work wonders for him. This has made him a must-not-miss artist in this moment.
On the other hand, the Sand Fest is arguably the biggest local music festival which brings together a bucketful of some of if not all the country’s biggest music acts. What more with the addition of the international headliners as they traditionally do. And who would not love a little time away from the office life for a good three days along the shores of Lake Malawi?
Now, let us shift the focus to the event in Dowa, the Tumaini Festival. Do we have any other festival in the world which takes place in a refugee camp? I am yet to be told. That fact in itself speaks volumes about how special the event is.
In the current Malawian set-up, where many are barely surviving to meet their financial needs and demands, who would not wish for a free artistic treat somewhere? The Tumaini Festival, since it does not attract any gate charges, should be a preferable destination for a good number of the country’s citizens.
But the bottom line is that in all these gigs there is something special attached to each one of them that, factors being constant no party-goer would like to forgo that easy. So, if one manages to attend one or two out of the three, it is still a big loss at the end of the day.
In an ideal situation, perhaps these gigs were better off scheduled on different weekends and days. But hey! It is a free market and ultimately everyone is at liberty to schedule his event at the time and place of his choice.
I pray that when I will be preparing my entry for next Friday I will be seated on my desk filled with good and positive vibes about the turnout of all these events. Yes! Basking in the excessive knowledge that all those who turned up for these events, received a dose which was worth their effort, time and money.
It will leave me a broken man when it will be demanded of me to purr over a litany of negatives such poor sound output, artists showing up late on stage, others performing while heavily intoxicated, some acts doing a no show with no prior excuse, poor security tales and all that gibberish.
In the spirit of fun, let each one of us who will find time and space, take part in this overflowing entertainment dish which is before us. It may never happen again.
