UK promoter eyes Malawi
United Kingdom (UK)-based promoter Spencer Mutemasango says Malawi is a good country with a lot of good people, but it is being left behind in terms of performance by international artists.
Mutemaganso, who is CEO of Big Base Entertainment, told The Nation yesterday that he is motivated to bring better entertainment to Malawi after he negotiated Jamaican superstar Busy Signal’s performance at the Sand Music Festival last year.
He said Big Base Entertainment is a big company which represents top artists worldwide, from Africa to the United States of America (USA).
Mutemasango said he was impressed by the reception awarded to Busy Signal at the Lucius Banda-led music festival which was held at Sunbird Livingstonia Beach in Salima and as such, there are plans to bring him back for another performance.
“Busy Signal kept on mentioning how happy he was being back to the motherland. He enjoyed Malawi’s hospitality, the people and the crowd who came to Salima. There are plans to bring him back before the end of the year; we are still negotiating with Lucius Banda,” he said.
According to Mutemaganso, his company will partner Sand Festival to make this year’s festival stand out.
“This year’s Sand Festival is going to be the biggest because we are working with Mr Banda and his team. We are looking at doing a Friday night give away party at the festival where women will get free dresses, make-up and hair products. So, the Friday night at Sand is something that has never been seen in Africa before. There are 12 UK and USA companies who have shown a willingness to work with Sand Festival,” he said.
The promoter said they want to give Malawi an event the country will never forget.
“We are lining a couple of artists to come to Malawi. In the past a lot of promises have been made to Malawians and nothing has happened. Dru Hill, KCi & Jojo, Sean Paul and Shaggy, just to mention a few artists, who have been quoted as coming to Malawi but failed to appear.
“We had to put the record straight with Busy Signal, I remember a lot of people thinking that it was another gimmick,” he said.
Apart from Malawi, Big Base Entertainment has also hosted a couple of big name artists in Zimbabwe, including Mavado, Beenie Man and Sizzla. n
