Mare ecstatic over Byo gig

Melissa Mpofu Showbiz Editor
SULTRY songstress Cynthia Mare, who relocated to Zimbabwe from the United Kingdom last year, will this weekend perform in Bulawayo for the first time when she shares the stage with South African songbird, Zahara at the Amphitheatre.The show, which will be held on Saturday, will be an “All Female Affair” gig aimed at raising environmental awareness and funds for the Tsholotsho and Tokwe-Murkosi flood victims. The show, dubbed the Green Concert, will also see Zahara sharing the stage with divas Sandra Ndebele and Diana Samkange. Before making their way to Bulawayo, the artistes will first perform at the 7 Arts Theatre in Harare tomorrow.

Mare, who is fresh from the Harare International Festival of the Arts (Hifa) stage where she left audiences blown away, said she was excited about her debut Bulawayo performance.

“There is no place like home. I am really grateful for the love and support people are giving me back home as my performance at Hifa was great. The audience was really supportive and I’m now looking forward to my first performance in Bulawayo.

“Performing with Zahara is something I have always wanted to do. I am glad to have finally got that opportunity which I will use to show people that Zimbabwe has talent similar to Zahara’s,” said the diva.

The songstress, who has since assembled a band in Zimbabwe which she has not yet named, will offer quality entertainment as she will not use back tracks for her performance but will perform with her new band.

Cynthia reinvented her music after the death of her mother in 2011, ditching the ‘Not Another Diet’ hip-hop genre to something more Afro-pop and Zimbabwean.

“When I relocated to Zimbabwe from the UK, I decided to change my music genre from RnB to Afro jazz so as to satisfy the local market. The Afro jazz also touches on a bit of gospel,” she said.

Her third album Songs My Mother Loved is mainly comprised of touching tracks which are a tribute to her late mother. Her rendition of Hatina Musha Panyika, Ndokutenda Sei and Dai Zvaibvira – Zuva Rimwe are some of the tracks which gained her popularity when she returned home as the songs received quite a lot of airplay from local radio stations.