Wailing Brothers gaining ground

Reggae group Wailing Brothers’ fan base in Mzuzu has grown as witnessed during a show on Sunday where they pulled a crowd of about a thousand.

The band’s first show in November last year disappointed as they managed to attract 100 patrons.

Fans interviewed randomly at Mzuzu Tourist Lodge, said the revived reggae group has the potential to excel if they expose themselves more to the public through frequent performances.

A reggae follower Francis Mwakalenga said Wailing Brothers is possibly the truest reggae group in the country given the good quality of their instrumentation.

He, however, observed that group needs to work on vocals to match with sound quality.

“Their strength is on instrumentation. The message in their songs is also clear. Their weakness is on vocals. It will be a complete band if they find a good vocalist,” said Mwakalenga.

Another fan David Mtegha said the band needs to be given more time to establish itself before making judgement.

“We need to give them two or three years. For sure, they will be perfect by then. Otherwise, it’s too early to pass judgement as this is just the beginning,” he said.

The band was revived last year by Takudziwani and Paul Chokani, formerly of the Black Missionaries Band. In February, they launched their Unfinished Project album in Blantyre.

Since then, the band has held shows nationwide together with Toza Matafale, Arnold and Moda Fumulani.

Takudziwani said the band is overwhelmed with the response they received in Mzuzu.

“Our aim is to nurture and expose new talent. So, the youth we have are new and yet to master the trade. But they will mature with time as long as they are given space and more time for performances,” he said.

The band’s next destination is Mponela, Dowa on Friday, Silver Stadium in Lilongwe on Saturday and Area 25 on Sunday.