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AFRO-JAZZ songstress Rute Mbangwa delighted her Zambian fans at the weekend when she performed before a huge crowd at ZimCafe hotel. The delectable Rute took fans back and forth with a fine delivery of new and old songs as well as cover versions of international artistes among them Zahara, Mafikizolo and Malaika. Her crowd control from start to finish was amazing while her vocals were soothing. The gig, which coincided with Women’s Day celebrations, gave Rute an opportunity to spread love and be merry with the appreciative audience.
The Zambians, who had come for the aborted African Nations Championships match between the Warriors and the Zambian national team scheduled for Rufaro Stadium, showed how it is done the “Chipolopolo” way.
Dressed in their national colours, the football fans has a great time with Rute on stage.
“It is my first time to be here but I’m loving it,” said Chileshe Banda.
Another fan, Chansa Mwamba, said she enjoyed Rute’s performance and would love return to ZimCafe whenever comes to Harare.
“I am a fan of Rute and I love afro-jazz music. For most Zambians it was truly an amazing experience because it is something new to us,” she said with a chuckle.
“Zambians are generally peace-loving people and for us to come here and celebrate with the Zimbabweans it shows we are one people,” another fan said.
Backstage, Rute expressed satisfaction with the whole show saying was like art which relates to different people.
“For me this is not my first time to play before a multicultural audience.
“In fact, I once performed in Algeria and still managed to connect with the audience which was largely made up of Algerians. So when the Zambians came through I didn’t have any problems.
“What I did was to sing music that talks to people and danceable. As you probably witnessed, the people were on the dance floor throughout the show and that was really humbling,” she said.
The crowd went into a frenzy when she performed her hit “Kumanginde”, an afro-traditional fusion that has a catchy bass and vocals.
Halfway through her set, Rute invited fans to join her as she performed the “Look at my Shoes” dance that left the audience gaping.
For most Zambians, it was a night to remember as they enjoyed the hospitality and the Tshisa Nyama under the full moon.
Rute is backed by a six-member band comprising Pablo Nakapa on acoustic, Frank Mavhumira, on lead guitar, Zealman Munyengu on drums, Chris Fefini on keyboards, Tito Svosvore on percussion and Solomon Shunguro on bass guitar.
Online Reporter