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NewsDay

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Goodbye Mtukudzi

Life & Style
What a grand farewell! Everyone attended the Oliver Mtukudzi farewell show at the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC) on Saturday night would have marvelled at the way fellow musicians bid the music superstar goodbye ahead of his three-month tour of Europe and the United States. A show featuring Sulumani Chimbetu, Diana Samkange and Jah Prayzah […]

What a grand farewell! Everyone attended the Oliver Mtukudzi farewell show at the Harare International Conference Centre (HICC) on Saturday night would have marvelled at the way fellow musicians bid the music superstar goodbye ahead of his three-month tour of Europe and the United States.

A show featuring Sulumani Chimbetu, Diana Samkange and Jah Prayzah climaxed when they all joined Mtukudzi on stage around midnight for a joint performance of the song Munondipasa Manyemwe.

Like sons and daughter wishing their father farewell as he embarks on a serious hunting mission, the young musicians indeed presented the godfather of local music with a befitting sendoff and gave him all the inspiration and morale contained in the song Munondipasa Manyemwe.

Mtukudzi leaves for the United Kingdom this week for his first shows of the tour over the weekend. He should be going for the tour with his shoulders high after thousands of fans thronged HICC to honour their icon ahead of the travel.

It will not be until September 21 that local fans will watch Mtukudzi on stage in the capital again. And the welcome back show, which doubles as his birthday celebration, promises to be another historic thriller since a number of the musician’s South African friends will be expected to take part at the gig that will also feature the crème de la crème of local performers.

As humble as always, Mtukudzi bowed in honour of his fellow musicians and fans in his last bye-bye at HICC.

The auditorium exploded into wild emotional cheers as Mtukudzi was joined by Jah Prayzah, Chimbetu and Samkange for the joint performance. They did the song in unison, joined by fans that jubilantly sang along, making the show a memorable outing for performers and audiences alike.

As Mtukudzi went off the stage, fans frantically waved, jumped, whistled, ululated and shouted marking a great exodus for a revered hero. As expected, most fans streamed off the auditorium after Mtukudzi’s performance.

The superstar later joined Chimbetu on stage for their collaboration song Kwedu and the dendera classic popularly known as Ndiroore.

Chimbetu’s performance ended a colourful night that will definitely remain etched in the minds of revellers. Chimbetu’s performance was also exceptional as he managed to entertain audiences with exciting dendera hits until daybreak.

The show had opened on a jazz and mbira note when Samkange serenaded fans with her currents hits before digging deep into her past for a few urban grooves tunes.

Samkange warmed the stage and prepared fans for a great night.

She started when the auditorium had very few people, but the massive influx of revellers during her performance seemed to inject energy in her act and she left the stage after convincing fans that she had many tricks up her sleeve.

After Samkange’s performance came Jah Prayzah who, unfortunately, failed to live up to expectations. Although he came to the show with the man-of-the-moment tag, the young musician failed to excite the crowd as he had done in the past. He played most of his hit songs, but something seemed out of tune in his act. He was not in his usual form.

Jah Prayzah left the stage for Roki, who was performing for the first time on a grand stage after his disqualification from Big Brother Stargame. Although his performance time was short, Roki showed audiences that he has still the energy despite gaining weight. His dancers and backing vocalist lived up to the task and left revellers asking for more when they went off the stage after performing Chidzoka.

It was indeed a night to remember and show organiser Josh Hozheri should be commended for a job well done.