On Sunday, musician Lulu took a trip from his base in Lilongwe to Blantyre where he had a music performance at Scalla’s Cafe.
Though the announcement and promotion of the show was done at short notice, music lovers, in particular fans of the artist, made sure that they made it to the venue. By 6pm, the venue’s car park was full in readiness for the show which was billed to start at 8pm.
In between that time, party goers were entertained with jazz music performed by the joint’s resident band. The old classic hits they played were enough to entertain patrons as they waited for the main act of the evening.
Few minutes after 10pm, the Lilongwe-based artist appeared on the make shift stage with his guitar. Being a man of a few words or even none, Lulu only signalled to the expectant audience and then proceeded to do his routine sound checks.
In ruffled dreadlocks, the musician looked up and soon the rhythm was off as he introduced the song Mukukanika Bwanji Kukhululuka. And the audience roared in an assuring approval.
What followed was a marathon of songs taken from his five albums. He treated his guitar with utmost delicate precision.
Songs such as Bondia, Ukonde wa Lero, Hannah, Ndidalira, Ndakudziwa, Usapite and many others featured on the playlist in a performance that went on until the early hours of Monday.
He used every ounce of strength to quench the musical thirst of his Blantyre fans. When he strummed his guitar for the last time, nobody could dispute that his trip from the Capital City was worth it. He thanked the audience and bowed out.
Chilobwe Township resident Elson Hiwa said of the performance: “The lad knows music and he knows how to give a live performance. Very few artists in Malawi can get to this level. From start to finish, it was a beautiful performance.”
