Dendera music master Allan Chimbetu Thursday left for Malawi where he is expected to stage a number of shows beginning this weekend.
Although the musician did not give the finer details to his itinerary in Malawi, he said they would perform in Lilongwe and Blantyre among other destinations.
“We are very excited about this tour and it is such an honour to go on this regional tour. It will be our first time to perform there but information from Malawi indicates that our fans are eagerly awaiting the tour,” said Chimbetu a few minutes before his departure.
The musician left by road with his whole group and they are expected to spend two weekends in Malawi.
Chimbetu said their wide selection of Chichewa songs would make them comfortable with the shows since their fans would definitely have something to identify with.
“We have many songs in Chichewa and we are looking forward to playing most of the songs because that is their language that side. It will also make it easy for us to communicate various messages on our songs. But there are also numerous Zimbabweans in Malawi who have been making serious enquiries since they heard that we will be travelling there.”
Although he has toured regionally and internationally before, Chimbetu had a tough time abroad when he went to the UK in 2006 when the tour promoter dumped him before the tour ended.
Thursday the musician emphasised that everything was in order for the Malawi tour and there would be no repeat misfortunes.
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“We have done all the groundwork. The promoter has played his part and we are playing our part to curb against such incidents. We learnt our lessons and we will not repeat mistakes.”
Some of the songs Chimbetu has promised to deliver during the tour are Chauta, Manene Yavongo and Africa.
The musician has stood his ground locally despite stiff competition from his nephews, Sulumani and Tryson, who are also serving the dendera genre well.
Sulumani has proved to be the most popular of the musicians from Chimbetu family but Allan has always counted on his vast experience in the industry to keep his name and music in the limelight.
Some of the popular songs from the musician locally include Sonny and Jefferson. Allan has kept most of his shows out of Harare for the better part of his career, serving fans in remote parts of the country.
