Shoko Festival roars to life

ONE of Zimbabwe’s longest-running urban culture festival, Shoko Festival, has burst into life.The festival, which is in its 16th edition and runs under the theme, Unmuted, started on Wednesday and ends on Saturday.

This year’s edition of the festival kicked off on a unique note with a Sofar Sounds Pop Up at Harare Gardens. The pop-up show featured artistes such as Cingi, Vicky Soulful, Bhanshee and Kuda Rice.

As part of the festivities at this year’s extravaganza, the Shoko Festival Comedy Night will take place at the Harare Gardens on September 24, with headline actsNigel Maritinyu, known as Nigel tha Slick Pastor and South Africa’s Vafa Naraghi set to steer the show. The dynamic jest masters will be supported by talented comedians in the mould of Neville Nyoni, alias Neville Bird and Glad Syre Chipenzi.

The potential rib-cracking thriller will be hosted by Sharon Chideu, also known as Magi. To add to the general excitement, Vafa Naraghi will be making his debut at the festival’s Comedy Night, adding another layer of anticipation to the night.

Mash Up Night, which has become another draw card for Shoko Festival goers, will light up on September 25 at the Harare Gardens. Bulawayo based Bhila, Saintfloew, Voltz JT, OneDa from the United Kingdom, Mugaratia and Xiba are among the headline acts. Complementing the star-studded lineup of the Mash Up Night will be Mashoko Tapes artistes, Supermuno, Millz Million, Easy Ice, Luigi Badgenna, and Hooksmith, who are also basking in the glory of the recently released Mashoko Tapes Volume 3.

Now in it’s third year running, Mashoko Tapes is an innovative music residency programme that brings together the festival’s Mash Up Night performers in a collaborative environment to produce an original album, fostering artistic growth amongst Zimbabwe’s hip hop and urban artists.
Shoko Festival Coordinator Natasha Sipanera said this year’s edition is bigger and amplified.

“This year’s edition line up is a testament to Shoko Festival’s commitment to celebrating local stars and providing a platform to unheralded talent, in tandem with this year’s theme, Unmuted. Expect fireworks during the three day event with Comedy Night, Mash Up Night and Peace In The Hood in Chitungwiza on Saturday,” said Sipanera.

Running on the sidelines of Shoko Festival is The Hub Unconference from the 24th and 25th of September. The gathering on digital media, civic tech and the creative economy will include panel discussions, masterclasses, debates, live podcasts, creative pop-ups and interactive showcases led by renowned speakers from various African countries. Angela Kilisungu (Tanzania), Nkumi Mtingwa (Tanzania), Antonio Kisembo (Uganda), Zimbabwe’s Member of Parliament, Darlington Chugumbu, Willson Chivhanga (Malawi), Samuel Eibu (Uganda), Linda Mujuru (Zimbabwe) and Joice Svotwa (Zimbabwe) are among the notable speakers who will be driving conversations during the three-day conference.
Capping off conferences is the Green Cities Expo, a convention curated to spark conversations on the use of clean energy and tackling climate change in Africa. The convention will bring together speakers from Zimbabwe and

Africa on how the continent can come up with solutions to climate challenges.
Shoko Festival is Zimbabwe’s longest-running urban culture festival, now in its 16th edition celebrating alternative youth culture and free expression. It is a project of Magamba Network, Africa’s trailblazing creative and digital media organisation.

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