11 local artists to grace Summer Fest

sale as from today at the Rainbow Towers at US$15 for ordinary entry and US$40 for VIP entry.
P Square will land in Harare on October 11, giving them time to also engage in some social responsibility activities despite their heavy schedule which precluded them from staying longer in the country.
Besides the two DJs, Banks and Rax, who will be turning the tables throughout the festival, local musicians taking part in the event include Chiwoniso Maraire, Prudence Katomeni-Mbofana, Alexio, Winky D and Nox.
Tafadzwa Simba of the Harare International Festival of the Arts who are managing the event on behalf of Delta, said this underscored the desire of the beverages manufacturer to support local entertainers wherever possible.
“Responsibility and sustainability are values that the Lion Lager Summer Festival is aspiring towards contributing to the sustainability of the music industry in the country through supporting our musicians.
“The festival is one way we aim to perpetuate those values,” said Simba.
He said local artists performing at the Lion Lager Summer Festival were paid the best rates in the country.
“Organisers of the festival noted that no one in the country is paying local artists more than the Lion Lager Summer Festival.
“This is so even when taking into consideration the fact that as part of a festival set-up, the 11 local artists will be playing only part of their complete repertoires and they will be playing for shorter sets than the headline act,” he said.
“Courtesy (as per international best practice) towards the local artists again precludes comment on specifics within those contracts but it should be noted that even the artists themselves (who are all extremely professional with vast experience in the industry and backed by equally accomplished management) would not accept any unfair payment,” he said.
“All the acts, except the DJs, will have full bands (hence the total number of artists is large) so the benefit of participation in the festival will accrue to many musicians,” Simba said.
The organisers said the festival was also intended to be a benchmark by which similar offerings in the country should be organised.
“There should not be one set of standards for local acts and another set for so-called ‘international’ acts.
“After all, when Zimbabwean acts go outside the country, they are also referred to as ‘international’, so Zimbabwean artists are also international artists deserving international staging standards.”
With the hallmarks of a successful show being efficiency in the areas of sound quality security, time utilisation as well as the adequacy and quality of amenities such as toilets, the organisers have declared that the show will be of world-class standards based on their plans for these hallmarks.
The organisers said no persons under the age of 18 years will be permitted into the venue. The festival reserves the right to conduct physical searches on potential festival attendees.