Multi award-winning afro-fusion group Mokoomba will for the first time share the stage with rising afro-jazz musician Selmor Mtukudzi at 7 Arts Theatre on Thursday.
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Mokoomba, who have been riding high on the international scene and slowly gaining ground on home turf, packed up the Book Café two weeks ago and they hope to do the same with the show on Thursday.
Mokoomba’s manager Marcus Gora said the show titled 100% Local Concert was a celebration of local talent. He said they themed the show on the background of numerous unsatisfactory foreign acts.
“Going to 7 Arts Theatre is a sign of our efforts to growing our audience. We have performed at nearly every festival in the country but we have been slowly building our following,” said Gora. “The idea is our music is of international quality and we are tried and tested as a brand.”
Selmor said their show would not conflict with another one pitting her father Oliver Mtukudzi, Zahara and Tariro neGitare.
“The Tuku-Zahara show is probably targeting the higher-end of the market while ours will be priced at US$10,” she said.
“The other thing is, though we are using the same venue, the shows are on different days, and by virtue of pricing, it means we are targeting a different audience altogether.”
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Mokoomba is the most successful “young” band in the country lately, receiving various international accolades, with the most recent being the Songline’s Best Newcomer Award in the United Kingdom.
While Mokoomba’s success on home soil is confined to festivals, Selmor shares a similar dilemma of being overshadowed by her towering father.
That her husband, Tendai Manatsa is also a child of a celebrated musician (Zex Manatsa) has not helped, as the two are inadvertently compared with their fathers.
But she has been one of the most defined and consistent female artistes with two of her tracks Ruby and Wakandipedzera Nguva topping local charts.
Gora described Selmor as a multi-talented musician.
“Her deep and powerful voice and liberating style has established her as a premier singer-songwriter, whose playful story-telling sheds light on a broad range of social concerns from women’s rights to the erosion of traditional social values,” said Gora.
