KAMPALA — At this rate, Zimbabwe’s music legend Oliver Mtukudzi may have to declare Uganda his second home. He was here for the fourth time last Sunday for the Blankets and Wine Festival at the Uganda Museum, making him the most-sought-after musician from the south since the late South African reggae maestro Lucky Dube.
Observer/Staff
Wearing white, Mtukudzi started off with a listening session. With his signature acoustic guitar, he belted out What Does it Take to be a Hero? a song in which he asks questions like: “Do you have to die to be a hero?” It was a moment that reminded many of Nelson Mandela.
Tuku then belted out Hear Me Lord that got so many in the worshipping mood. For about an hour, Mtukudzi performed favourite hits such as Todii and Ndakuvara, among others.
Mtukudzi, however, had downsized his band. He had only a keyboardist, drummer, bassist and female vocalist. The guy on the marimba that everyone looks out for did not surface. But the keyboardist did a good job, sometimes making the machine sound like the marimba, and other times like the rhythm guitar.
Blankets and Wine is a picnic-style music festival designed to showcase genres of Afrocentric music. The festival spread its wings to Uganda this year and last Sunday was the fifth serving in Kampala. The idea of the festival is to have the guests determine what they want to sit on, eat and be entertained by. Reporter
