Online Reporter
Maria Chiguvari
TOP musical ensemble, Mokoomba, say they are impressed with how their music is penetrating a lot of new markets on the continent.
The Victoria Falls group play in more foreign venues every year than any other local musical group.
Mokoomba are big in Europe and have been making inroads in the United States.However, they don’t command the same huge following at home like they do in foreign countries.
On Saturday night, Mokoomba played at the 21st edition of the Festival sur le Niger in Ségou, Mali.
Running under the theme “Cultural Diversity, Peace and Unity,” the festival started on Tuesday.
With a main stage, which has a capacity of 40 000 people, Mokoomba shared the stage with music legends like Salif Keita, Sekouba Bambino, Monz, Mylamo, Didier Awadi, Alif Naaba, Sekoiba and Amadou et Mariam.
The group’s spokesperson, Marcus Gora, told H-Metro:
“It’s a dream come true and we are happy to be here. We are doing okay, it’s just a different environment and they use mostly French, so we have to adjust,” he said.
The Festival sur le Niger (Segou Art), is one of Africa’s largest festivals, which is held in Segou, Mali.
The late Oliver Mtukudzi took part in the festival.
Gora said Mokoomba derives a lot of pride in the way their music is penetrating different corners of the continent.“While we perform extensively on other continents, we take pride in the impact our music is making across Africa and also at home.
“We aim to host a good number of local concerts this year and look forward to touring Africa and Europe in the middle of the year.
“Towards the end of the year, we anticipate participating in the vibrant festival seasons which begin in September,” he said.
Mathew Masinge