Cindy-Lou Dale
Photojournalist
Let there be music
The
Word got around fast, bringing together festival goers from all over Africa, Europe and the
Along with its growth, the line-up had also dramatically improved. This year showcased live acts like Ras Kwame from BBC’s radio 1; the three piece
The annual lakeside three-day gig, which has historically been held on the grounds of the Chintheche Inn, a picture-postcard resort of
This is an international event like no other where music crosses boundaries and borders, where people leave their inhibitions and misgivings at home, where the Minister of Tourism, after officially opening the event, succumbs to the irresistible beat and bogeys on the dance floor, to huge applause and wolf-whistles from an appreciative audience.
Like the chefs at numerous food stalls, tempting visitors pallets’ with a variety of tastes, the Lake of Stars music festival stands to make Malawi one of Africa’s most popular tourist destinations, by offering a glimpse into its multi-cultural music influences.
Trade bustled at curio stalls and bars, dotted around the shady grounds, had their beer pumps working hard. Corporate executives, college students, bus drivers, teachers, housewives – they were all equal here. People from all walks of life mingled and co-existed on equal terms. This in itself may be an experience which will hopefully be taken beyond the confines of the event.
The remoteness of the location demanded alternative modes of transport, necessitating luxury cars to be left at airports. Only rickety hired cars and bush taxis could be seen in the parking lot; and with no luxury accommodation in the immediate surrounds, everyone was graciously accommodated at the Chintheche Inn, who also opened their grounds to campers.
Opening the show, and sending near a thousand cheering beat-crazed revellers to the dance floor, was Kenny Gilmore and the Sangalala Afro Blues Band, who skilfully merged traditional African rhythms and soulful American blues, creating a sound unique to them.
But a discoursing murmur spread through the crowd following Gilmore’s awesome performance; the much anticipated act of Lucius Banda, which was meant to go on directly following Gilmore, had to be cancelled as Banda had been sentenced to prison for forgery the day before.
However, it was the energetic headline act of US-based Yewande that stole the show. The statuesque Liberian-born urban rock songstress, seized the low spirits of her audience and drove the crowd into a frenzy of dancing and clapping. Yewande’s lyrics, from her new Evolution album, spoke of issues other artists fail to acknowledge. She commanded a certain star presence; the magnitude of her voice was huge, in every sense of the word. No one was left unaffected by the passion in her music.
The atmosphere, now filled with excitement and anticipation, exploded into hysteria when the hugely successful ‘2005 Band of Year – The Black Missionaries - stepped up to the microphone. This musically pedigreed family, banded together by the late Evison Matafale some six years ago, rocked the
“To play at the festival in 2005 was exciting, and now to come back in 2006 as the lead band is a huge honour,” agreed the three band leaders Musamudi, Anjiri, and Chizondi Fumulani, sons of one of the greatest musicians
The Chintheche Inn continued to rock on past dawn, transferring to Harry’s beach bar where DJs like the acclaimed Beat Monkeys, played out thumping rhythms from four decks and two mixers, creating a heady mix of funk, house, hip-hop and electro. One of
This must have been, for those three nights at least, the best dance floor in all of
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