Published by the government of Zimbabwe
Jonathan Mbiriyamveka
23 October 2009
Harare — Is Oliver Mtukudzi now reneging on his plans to scale down on local shows?
Well, he says despite his planned countrywide tour this month, he has managed to minimise his public appearances. So far this year, Tuku has performed two major gigs -- one for the Dairai album launch in June and his birthday bash in September. He was also a guest artist at the International Italian Jazz Festival held in Harare last week on Tuesday.
Speaking through his manager, Sam Mataure, Mtukudzi said he would be performing in and outside Harare come month-end.
"Previously we used to hold shows every month end in Harare alone, but that has since changed. Of course, we scaled down on local shows compared to previous years.
"This year we have had few shows in Harare and there is another planned gig in Mutare although I can't tell you the dates now.
"We have slowed down on performances in Harare but in the case of Bulawayo and Kwekwe, we have been unable to hold shows there because of costs involved to manage the gigs," Mataure said.
He said there were plans to go on a major countrywide tour next year to include other towns like Beitbridge, Gweru, Chinhoyi and Masvingo.
"For the Bulawayo and Kwekwe shows, they are merely an extension of the Tuku Bash that we held for the Norton community and it would be interesting to extend that gesture to other towns where we have not held the birthday bashes before," Mataure said.
Tonight Tuku and his five-member piece band will head to Bulawayo and tomorrow the Black Spirits performs in Kwekwe before taking a short breather.
Tuku has not been to Kwekwe since 2007 and the show promises to be a homecoming one since he once lived in the Midlands town.
Next Friday he resumes his gigs with a show at Andy Millar Hall, his favourite Harare joint during summer time.
The next day, he heads to Chitungwiza where he last performed last year.
Usually he likes to rope in his son Sam but on this particular gig Tuku would be supported by rising star Suluman Chimbetu backed by his Orchestra Dendera Kings plus urban grooves rising star Alexio Kawara.
According to organisers, the gig will be an all-night long party something that is likely to put smiles on the faces of Tuku music fans.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 The Herald. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
