The ManicaPost
Liberty Dube
Entertainment Correspondent
EPIC!
This aptly describes Saturday’s Summer Festival. Mutare recorded a historic attendance after more than 6 000 people paid to watch arguably the country’s finest artistes — Jah Prayzah, Freeman and Mambo Dhuterere — as they were live on stage at Manicaland Motoring Club.
This was the first time for the eastern border city to host such a crowd.
No doubt, this was a show of the year, if not of the decade.
Fun lovers were evidently ecstatic from as early as Friday evening as most watering holes in the city were full, with patrons from as far as from Rusape and Marondera joining the party.
On Saturday, early birds started trickling into the venue from as early as 2pm, as heart-pounding music was already reverberating from the stage, thanks to local deejays led by veteran DJ Candyman.
As expected, drama unfolded as people jostled for the best parking spaces outside the premises.
The parking issue turned out to be a very huge challenge.
Some revellers had to park their cars kilometres away from the venue, while the most cautious ones parked in town and used taxis to get to Manicaland Motoring Club.
The show, which was organised by Patson Chimbodza of Chipaz Promotions, came with many lessons.
Mambo Dhuterere
The public address system was top notch and this made the night unforgettable.
At the gates, bouncers who have of late become a menace in local shows simply had no chance to bully anyone.
In fact, there was no one to bully as people would simply pay, pass through two security points and get into the arena.
There was no room for negotiations with the rowdy bouncers.
Secondly, there were barricades to control the revellers, both from the VIP and the ordinary section.
Barricades at the gates also controlled the traffic of revellers as they trickled into the venue.
However, there were a few hiccups.
Some rowdy people from outside the venue threw stones inside, while vicious dogs were sometimes a menace to the peaceful crowd as their handlers were overpowered.
The elegantly dressed Mambo Dhuterere was the first one to jump on stage and he delivered a sterling performance. Freeman also came and conquered with songs such as “Robbery” and danceable tunes such as “Ngaibake” and “Pombi”.
He communicated well with fans, particularly the ladies. His instrumentalists also nailed it.
Supporting acts such as Assegai Crew, Mystery and Joseph Makureya rose to the occasion and were not moved by the huge crowd.
Templeman, fondly known as Tha Godfather, was exceptional.
Revellers waited patiently for the main act, and at around 2am, Jah Prayzah and the Third Generation Band jumped onto the stage with swag.
Ladies went into ecstasy. Some even cried while others screamed.
A video of ladies who passed out when Jah Prayzah went on stage has since gone viral. He belted some sing along hits such as “Bvumbamira” and “Jerusarema.”
The song “Goto”, from the album “Mdhara Vachauya”, was a master stroke and some people fell into trances.
Mutare charmed the lanky artiste that he even posted on his social media handles that he would not mind coming back again for another date.
“Mutare show yakabuda so sweet. Kana mukati ndidzoke kumakomo mangwana chaiye ndinodzoka. Thank you Mutare,” he wrote.
Chipaz confirmed to Weekender Entertainment that close to 6 500 people paid for the show, with an ordinary ticket pegged at $US10, while a VIP ticket was going for US$20.
He revealed that he will host another potentially record breaking show in Mutare in the near future, this time with an international artiste.
He castigated rowdy revellers who resorted to throwing stones into the venue after failing to find their way in.
He also said some local artistes who were billed to perform failed to turn up in what could have been an epic experience for their brands.
These include Rutendo Jackie and Lionel “Caff” Matanda.
“Everything went according to plan. We are grateful to Mutare revellers. We are planning to host annual events in Mutare as the city charmed us. We were overwhelmed by the support we received. We will be back with an international artiste on a date to be advised,” he said.
Manicaland Motoring Club chairman, Vonesi Masanganise said this was a historic gig for the venue.
