Entertainment / Arts
Manicaland Chibuku road to fame a success
14 Jun 2011 at 05:51hrs | Views
SUNRISE Jazz Band emerged the winners of the Manicaland provincial Chibuku Road to Fame competitions held at Dangamvura Hotel on Saturday.
The group walked away with the coveted US$1 000 prize money plus US$100 participation fee.
In that vein the group automatically qualified to represent the province at the national finals to be held at Glamis Arena on September 17.
Sunrise proved why they are a cut above the rest when they put up a polished performance that stole the hearts of the judges.
The jazz outfit did justice to their long months of practice by scooping the coveted first prize.
Yet another group, Hungwe Stars, which emerged second, pocketed US$500 on top of the US$100 performance fee.
On third position was Bembera Cultural Group who shrugged off stiff competition from Sunrise and Hungwe Stars.
They walked away with US$300.
Bembera Cultural Group left people clamouring for more with their songs "Nherera".
However, six other groups failed to make it for the competition.
"They didn't meet the criteria, not transport logistical problems, as it was believed before," an official who spoke anonymously said.
The group that was disqualified was Zimfellas after they failed to meet the regulations.
They performed without a drummer.
Sunrise Jazz Band lead vocalist Wallace Kasambira could not hide his joy.
"We are very happy because our hard work has been rewarded. We promise to polish up for the national finals and we also want to thank our sponsors for giving us a platform to expose our talents," said Kasambira.
Delta Beverages marketing manager Patricia Murambinda was impressed by everything.
"Although 13 groups were supposed to compete, only seven took part whilst the rest were disqualified on grounds of failing to meet the set requirements. However, seven groups took part and they are not bad for provincial level," Murambinda said.
Nicholas Moyo, the assistant director of National Arts Council, was of a different view.
He said the standard that the artistes exhibited was far below expectations.
"Though they put a lot of effort, I am of the view that their standard was somehow low. They still have a lot to do in terms of perfecting their act.
"If ever they want to make it for the national finals they must rehearse extra hard," said Moyo.
Meanwhile, it was entertainment galore as groups like Assegai crew and Band Aha thrilled the crowd.
Assegai Crew proved that they are still going strong without their late leader Stobbart Chidikano when they put up one of the finest performances of the night.
One fan who was impressed by their performance said: "This is probably one of the best events I have witnessed recently since the last time a prominent artiste was here."
They proved why they are one of Manicaland's leading artistes when they belted out some of their hit songs like "Kanyama Karipi" among others.
The crowd went wild when they played the song and could not resist dancing along to the following songs by the group.
Assegai crew seems to have matured from the last time that the performed in terms of stage work.
One would not notice that Assegai crew was playing live especially on tracks by prominent artistes like Bob Marley, Simon Chimbetu and others.
Mutare-based gospel artiste of the moment Blessing Shumba also attended though he was not part of the event.
The group walked away with the coveted US$1 000 prize money plus US$100 participation fee.
In that vein the group automatically qualified to represent the province at the national finals to be held at Glamis Arena on September 17.
Sunrise proved why they are a cut above the rest when they put up a polished performance that stole the hearts of the judges.
The jazz outfit did justice to their long months of practice by scooping the coveted first prize.
Yet another group, Hungwe Stars, which emerged second, pocketed US$500 on top of the US$100 performance fee.
On third position was Bembera Cultural Group who shrugged off stiff competition from Sunrise and Hungwe Stars.
They walked away with US$300.
Bembera Cultural Group left people clamouring for more with their songs "Nherera".
However, six other groups failed to make it for the competition.
"They didn't meet the criteria, not transport logistical problems, as it was believed before," an official who spoke anonymously said.
The group that was disqualified was Zimfellas after they failed to meet the regulations.
They performed without a drummer.
Sunrise Jazz Band lead vocalist Wallace Kasambira could not hide his joy.
"We are very happy because our hard work has been rewarded. We promise to polish up for the national finals and we also want to thank our sponsors for giving us a platform to expose our talents," said Kasambira.
"Although 13 groups were supposed to compete, only seven took part whilst the rest were disqualified on grounds of failing to meet the set requirements. However, seven groups took part and they are not bad for provincial level," Murambinda said.
Nicholas Moyo, the assistant director of National Arts Council, was of a different view.
He said the standard that the artistes exhibited was far below expectations.
"Though they put a lot of effort, I am of the view that their standard was somehow low. They still have a lot to do in terms of perfecting their act.
"If ever they want to make it for the national finals they must rehearse extra hard," said Moyo.
Meanwhile, it was entertainment galore as groups like Assegai crew and Band Aha thrilled the crowd.
Assegai Crew proved that they are still going strong without their late leader Stobbart Chidikano when they put up one of the finest performances of the night.
One fan who was impressed by their performance said: "This is probably one of the best events I have witnessed recently since the last time a prominent artiste was here."
They proved why they are one of Manicaland's leading artistes when they belted out some of their hit songs like "Kanyama Karipi" among others.
The crowd went wild when they played the song and could not resist dancing along to the following songs by the group.
Assegai crew seems to have matured from the last time that the performed in terms of stage work.
One would not notice that Assegai crew was playing live especially on tracks by prominent artistes like Bob Marley, Simon Chimbetu and others.
Mutare-based gospel artiste of the moment Blessing Shumba also attended though he was not part of the event.
Source - Chibuku
