Chibuku provincial finals kick off in June

Standard People
BY MELISSA MPOFUDelta Beverages has announced dates for provincial finals of its annual talent search programmes: Chibuku Road to Fame and Chibuku Neshamwari Traditional Dance festival. The national finals of both programmes will be held in September.

The provincial competitions will kick off next month across all the 10 provinces and run until August.The organisers said interested artists are required to register with National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ). For the Chibuku Road to Fame, all genres are accepted and  the music is backed by musical instruments like mbira, guitars, keyboards, brass/horns, violin, harp etc. However, there should be at least one guitar and a drum set.

Chibuku Road to Fame is a musical identification programme that seeks to give underprivileged groups a chance to record their first albums. Chibuku Neshamwari is a traditional dance competition, which caters for contestants above 18 years of age.

Delta Beverages brands manager, Stanley Meck, said the partnership between NACZ and Delta Corporation has ensured continuity of these two programmes over the years.

“The competition offers aspiring artists an opportunity to showcase their talent and get a chance to become part of the music industry. The Road to Fame and Neshamwari programmes have benefited quite a number of young musicians in the provinces whose talent would otherwise have gone unnoticed,” said Meck.

“Many young and upcoming musicians see these programmes as the first step to stardom. They enter the competition with the hope that one day they will actually have a recording contract, something which they dream of.”

Last year, a Harare group, Munandi Express won the Chibuku Road to fame competition while Villa 1 Nyau, another Harare-based group, came out tops at the Chibuku Neshamwari competitions.