THE recently held 21st local edition of Sofar Sounds (Songs from a Room) may have set a new bar for curating social events.
Dubbed the Natural Hair Edition, guests were invited to show off their God-given natural hair in any way they fancied.
Gathering like the proverbial birds of a feather, the outcome was stunning.
Beauty, confidence and ethnic pride turned up on the dance floor.
It was more than recreational, it was defiance, affirmation and collective-healing.
Founded in London in 2009, Sofar Sounds is a global community serving over 350 cities by hosting intimate music shows in unique, unexpected and non-traditional spaces.
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For Harare, the show has been to Chapungu Sculpture Park, First Floor Gallery, National Gallery of Zimbabwe (NGZ), Hyatt Regency Harare The Meikles Hotel, some private residences and other notable institutions.
The latest was held at the very plush residence of eminent ophthalmologist Solomon Guramatunhu, former chairperson of the Board of Trustees for NGZ and a patron of the arts.
Flawlessly directed by master of ceremonies Chipo Mugove Chikara, the event was curated by Khumbulani Muleya, designated “city lead”, who co-ordinates events in Harare.
The line-up was composed of singers Sky Blue and Act, spoken word artist Tadana Nakai, collaborative dance and poetry duo CXXVII and Ngoni, guitar virtuoso Trust Samende and Mary Anibal, rising star and potential heir to the legendary Chiwoniso Maraire.
Unique to Sofar Sounds, performers joined the audience after finishing their sets — becoming part of the crowd and neutralising the intimacy barrier between fan and idol.
Guramatunhu gave a speech extolling the virtues and values of African hair in the post-colonial hangover of imposed western standards.
He was surrounded by a bevy of women with natural hair in various styles ranging from large Afros, to micro short hair, plaited, waist length locs and clean-shaven.
Guramatunhu has always held strong views about women’s hair, which have rubbed some people the wrong way in the past.
This time, he was preaching to the converted.
In Harare, there is a coterie of sophisticates who have been modelling the natural look for ages.
Some of them in attendance were Taremeredzwa“Tare”Chirewa who often spots an untamed Afro, Chenesai Mangoma, whose confidence carries the bald look like a sign of royalty and jazz and Afro folk contemporary singer/songwriter Raven Duchess with cascading gold-tinted locks.
Credit goes to white folks who even though the theme leaned heavily on the Afrocentric side, showed up and let down their hair in celebration of all things natural.
Men, who have always been beyond reproach on this matter represented themselves well, but the day belonged to the opposite sex.
The Sofar Sounds Harare Natural Hair Edition was an appealing proposition because it was not projected as a proselytising mission.
Although leaning towards a raw natural state, the event was inclusive and celebratory.
Natural is not always easy or cheap.
Touching on the issue of maintenance, the Duchess said: “I feel a lot of women find this to be a sensitive topic because some of them face challenges like hair breakage.
“They don’t know how to manage their natural hair. I appreciate the fact that at this event there were people selling hair products.
“Women who came to the event got free consultation regarding hair type, texture and what kind of products they can use to manage their hair.”
In Africa, the subject of black women’s hair is a complex one, with a contentious background and oppressive history due to colonialism.
Stripping off layers of constructed identities facilitates a journey towards wholeness in alignment to a deeper truth about identity and authenticity.
Celebrating the African woman’s natural hair is a way of acknowledging that she is complete as a person.
It empowers her to love and honour herself.
At Sofar Sounds Harare Natural Hair Edition, it was wonderful to behold the glimmer of divinity in the smiles and the laughter and movement of women, enraptured in mutual admiration and unconditional self-love.