Godwin Muzari
4 July 2009
South African musician PJ Powers last week rocked Harare with her shows which were widely appreciated by fans.
The energetic singer who turns 49 this month staged a string of shows at Reps Theatre where she got personal with most of the fans she left salivating for more at Hifa.
From Wednesday to last night, PJ Powers has been giving her best in three-hour shows and proved that she is one of the best entertainers in the region.
It was her first time to go for a chain of shows at one venue in the country and she says she is happy to be "back home".
She performed at the Harare International Festival of the Arts (Hifa) 2009 on May 1 and the Global Stage reverberated to wild applause after she put up an energetic performance belying her advanced age.
The one-hour slot was enough to invoke a soulful reaction in her audience but it was too short to quench the passion she had aroused.
"I love Zimbabwe and this is like a home to me," she said in an interview.
"I have toured the country on about 15 occasions since the early 1980s but this year's experience has been captivating.
"I had a great time at Hifa and this tour has been similarly impressive." She added: "The fans here impressed me. Just about six-months ago, they were grappling with serious food shortages and cruel inflation but they still enjoy the shows as if nothing ever happened.
"We would have had a fierce war if South Africa had been exposed to similar circumstances.
"I did not expect such a response when I came in May and this July tour has been a perfect time to say thank you for the support.
"I owe a lot to my fans here."
Although she admitted that her current visit was hectic, the energetic lady was at her usual best.
She described the tour as "a journey through my life" which saw her taking her audiences down her 28-year long music career.
"I have been lucky to achieve a lot musically and I took this tour as a way of presenting the history of my stretchy music career to my fans here.
Her debut show in Zimbabwe was in the early 1980s when she performed at a concert for Children at the Frontline alongside a host of local and regional musicians.
Born Penelope Jane Dunlop in Durban in 1960, PJ Powers - also known as Thandeka- started performing when she was s a teenager.
She has performed at Rufaro Stadium five times while her other concerts in the country were in Bulawayo and Victoria Falls.
Some of her popular songs are Jabulani, Shosholoza, World in Union and You Are My World.
PJ Powers hopes to record a duet with Oliver Mtukudzi and admires the talent among some of Zimbabwe's young musicians.
She will be in the country until Tuesday.
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