Big guns show the road to fame

Superstar Oliver Mtukudzi, dendera prodigy Tryson Chimbetu, Alick Macheso and dancehall star Winky D rocked the after-party.
This year’s celebrations marked 50 years of Chibuku, the brand that’s promoting Zimbabwean music. Mtukudzi, who turned 60 last week, showed no signs of slowing down.
Tryson was fired up as he did not waste time churning out the very best in song and dance.
Dr Nero, as he is affectionately known by his legion of fans, turned up the heat with a high energy performance that sent the crowd on its feet. Macheso had a busy day last Saturday despite being double booked for the Road To Fame and Commissioner’s Funfare, he gave his best much to the delight of the crowd.
Winky D made his presence felt when he put up a show-stopping act before a huge crowd that turned up at the show.
His act, which could pass as a dress rehearsal for the mega Lion Lager Summer Festival scheduled for October 13, will be one to watch out for. And if the Nigerian duo of P Square slackens they will be beaten to it by Winky D who is lovingly called the Ninja president by his fans. Upcoming groups also thrilled the crowds. The groups Tanga Pasi, Afro Jazz, Orchestra Sungura, Black Jazz, Facebook Brothers Sungura, Massive Combination Sungura, Terry & The Bliss Afro Jazz, Guruve Marimba Maramba, Fusion, Attacking Super Sounds Sungura and Jungle Tribe Afro Jazz gave judges a tough time to decide who the winners.
Chibuku Road to Fame is Zimbabwe’s biggest and most successful talent identification platform. The programme is a collaborative effort between Delta Bevarages and the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe.
Its major objectives are to promote the development of musical groups through identifying groups with potential to produce recordable material and assist winning groups in documenting their work.
The initiative has benefited quite a number of young musicians in countrywide, whose talent would otherwise have gone unnoticed. Many young and upcoming musicians see this programme as the first step to stardom.
Previous winners of the competition are Munandi Express (2011), Club Shanga (2010), Extra Valembe (2007) and Chuka Trinity (2006).