dyton mupawaenda
From Charles Mushinga in BIRMINGHAM, England
IT is very hard for a woman to make it in the Zimbabwean music industry.
Many budding female artistes have had their dreams cut short by cultural stereotypes about what a woman should and should not do when it comes to music.
A few ladies defy both parents and husbands and strive on with their music careers.
But there is a special breed of artists who get married and enjoy the support of their husbands.
Names like Janet Manyowa, Olivia Charamba and Shingisai Siluma easily spring to mind.
It may not be a coincidence that they are all gospel artists and there are few if any such pairings among secular female musicians.
Enter Eleana Makombe into the fray.
Her performance, as the headline act for the “Grateful 2.0 Concert” in Birmingham, England, on Saturday proved she is not there to fill the numbers.
Surrounded by big shots in the gospel music industry like Minister Michael Mahendere, Minister Takesure Zama and South African great, Benjamin Dube, Eleana proved she is real class.
She looked the part of a headline act and, when she sang her first note, the audience felt it.
Her vocal prowess is now so good and that explains why even gurus like Benjamin Dube have done duets with her.
Eleana has begun a process of carving her own name and this is thanks to her professional approach and the great support of her husband John Makombe.
He has come up as her rock providing administrative, financial, emotional and spiritual support to give weight and respect to her name and the results are catapulting her to greatness.
John Makombe summed up the levels of the couple’s ambitions at the end of the Grateful 2.0 Concert,
“Next year we will not be in Birmingham, we will move a step higher and hold this concert in London,” he proclaimed.
Online Reporter