There was a feeling of disappointment among fun seekers at Bingu International Convention Centre on Saturday night following the no-show of South African artist Mlindo The Vocalist.
Mlindo was scheduled to perform at the highly decorated gig as a headliner alongside celebrated local artists such as Gwamba, Tay Grin, man of the moment Eli Njuchi, Kell Kay, Lulu and DJ Nathan Tunes.
The announcement of Mlindo’s no-show, which came five hours after the show had started, was received with disapproval as evidenced by mass voluntary exit of fans from the venue.
Sharing the sad news a few minutes after midnight coinciding with his classy and interactive performance, Kell Kay resurfaced on stage with a sorrowful face ready to deliver unbelievable sentiments for the night.
“Tay Grin is next to perform, but before he comes on stage, allow me to share you some bad news. I am very sorry and I am also confused as you will be after hearing this.
“Mlindo is not with us and he is not performing tonight. I promise you we are going to be with him during the Blantyre gig. “Please take heart and we are organising something big to compensate for this disappointment”. He shared the news while finding his way out of the glittering stage
Kell Kay’s failure to share with fans reasons for Mlindos failure to show up sparked some unpleasant but short-lived verbal protests followed by more fans leaving the venue earlier than planned.
In her view, Elidah Solomoni of Kawale Township said the organisers could have shared the news at the beginning of the show than waiting for five hours to deliver the unwelcome development.
“We came here for Mlindo not these local acts, they could have shared the news as earlier as possible for fans to make their own decisions. We are going out disappointed,” she lamented
In an interview after the show, the events’ organiser, Winnie Tione said they were equally concerned with Mlindo’s failure and the disappointment it brought among Lilongwe fans.
However, Tione attributed the artist’s failure to avail himself to logistical hitches he faced enroute which led to the artist missing his connecting flight from Johannesburg to Malawi.
She said the artist was denied to board his connecting flight to Malawi at OR Tambo international airport where he arrived late after missing his scheduled morning flight from Durban.
“We are equally disappointed; we know this has not gone well with fans but this was beyond our control,” said Tione.
