Music muted in Mzuzu

On 25 April 2015, the normally reticent Mtebeti Wambali Mkandawire blew his top to stunned fans at a fundraising event in Mzuzu.

Before starting his performance, Mkandawire spared some five minutes to vent his frustrations with the poor patronage to his concerts in Mzuzu.

“My album Zani Muwone was first launched in Mzuzu then in Blantyre, but the reception was lukewarm. Surprisingly, when I launched it in South Africa the reception was good. I was later on nominated for a Kola Award and won the Sama [South African Music Award].

“People accuse me of not performing in Mzuzu, but it is because of such reception. I want Mzuzu to be a place where if I perform there should be a good reception,” the local jazz maestro had complained at the time.

It is not just Wambali, however, who has had to think twice before holding shows in Mzuzu. Music promoter Jai Banda says the last time he brought The Black Missionaries to Mzuzu “the patronage was pathetic”.

“The patronage could be the same as in Blantyre or Lilongwe, but if you factor in the overhead costs, it does not make business sense to hold shows in Mzuzu,” he says.

This has been one of the contributing factors for lack of major musical shows in Mzuzu to the extent that it earned itself the derisive tag “fun-starved city”.

Although Mzuzu has seen a number of shows recently, a festive season such as Christmas in the past would go without a major artistic event.

For Banda, the cost of holding a show in Mzuzu is much higher due to the distance from the other cities where the country’s major bands are based.

“It is not easy to make profits in Mzuzu. If you think of transport, accommodation, food and patronage, the profits are minimal,” he says.

Although musician Skeffa Chimoto maintains that he performs as many shows in Mzuzu as he does in Blantyre and Lilongwe, Banda argues that most of these bands are presently trekking to the North on invitation.

“I don’t think artists are organising shows on their own. They are performing there after being invited by organisers. So, after being invited they are also taking advantage to organise [their own] additional shows,” he says.

True to his observation, Mzuzu has enjoyed a considerable number of shows recently courtesy of the newly-established Top City Entertainment.

The music promotion firm was most active last year.

Apart from organising beauty contents and several urban music shows, the group brought top bands in the name of Lucius Banda and the Zembani Band, Skeffa Chimoto and the Real Sounds Band and Lulu with his Mathumela Band.

Skeffa and Lulu came twice whereas Lucius performed once within a period of four months.

In addition, Lulu performed again within the same period for the Moyo ndi Mpamba Music4Life Festival whereas Skeffa performed at the Malawi Institute of Journalism’s social weekend.

This year has also seen more shows being organised by event promoters than the artists themselves.

For instance, the Black Missionaries, Anthony Makondetsa, Skeffa, Lucius, among others, headlined some of the events such as the Carlsberg Street Party, Population Services International (PSI) Youth Alert music show and GOtv launch.

Banda, who is popularly known as ‘Mr Entertainer’ in the music industry, says the only way to increase the number of shows initiated by the artists themselves is by organising music tours.

“The best they could do if they want to maximise profits when holding a show in Mzuzu is by holding other shows in districts en-route to the north,” he suggests.

Whereas secular artists seem to be at the mercy of event promoters to perform in Mzuzu regularly, the story is different with gospel artists.

Mzuzu-based gospel artist Kelvin Sato says gospel shows are on the rise in the city, largely due to huge patronage and profits that go with gospel shows.

“Most of the people who patronise these shows are women and they are in majority. They opt for gospel shows since most of the secular shows take place at pubs during the night where they do not usually go,” he observes.

Sato says these shows also have huge profits due to good patronage.

“Most of the gospel shows in Mzuzu are money motivated. It is easy to make profits with these shows because the artists demand less than the secular ones,” he adds.

As Sato explains, there is entertainment in Mzuzu and possibly it is high time that people found another expression to replace the “fun-starved city” tag.