After a two-month coronavirus (Covid-19) induced break, Mingoli Band returned to live performances with a double showing at Scalla’s Café in Blantyre over the weekend.
Their return follows the reopening of one of the city’s popular entertainment joints where they are a resident band.
A week ago, the place’s management announced their intention to reopen and relaunch the place.
In their statement, they said they are mindful of the presence of the disease in the country; hence, they would take measures to ensure people enjoy themselves responsibly.
As per some of their announced precautionary measures, on Thursday, during the official reopening, customers were taken through a temperature check and
washed their hands with soap before being allowed in, among other precautionary steps.
The excitement among followers of Mingoli Band was evident looking at the huge number of patrons that turned up on the evening. Even the cold weather was not enough to deter fans from enduring a performance which went on till the early hours of Friday.
As per tradition, the band relied on the vocal prowess of lead vocalist Elivacy Myaba and veteran Collen Alli who took turns to dish out several classical covers both from Malawi and abroad.
The way that the party goers sung along to some of the popular tunes such as Sweetest Taboo, Time After Time and Perfect was testimony that they had missed live music.
After their performance on Thursday, the group delivered another masterpiece performance at the same venue on Sunday night.
Speaking in an interview, Myaba said as a group they were happy to be back on stage. She said the time off also allowed them to refresh their act which is vital as they move forward as a group.
She said: “The vibe and the energy was awesome. It is a different Mingoli Band. You could even tell from the sound itself that we are now on another level. The feeling out there was really exciting and exceptional.”
In a separate interview, Alli told this reporter how difficult it was for the group’s members to make ends meet without the live performances. He said they are now relieved to be given a chance to continue doing what they know best.
“The sad thing was that some don’t want to commit fully to upholding the set precautions while the lives of some of us had completely stalled. We don’t know how we will proceed but for now we are happy to be back,” he said.
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