Show promoter stands with local acts

H-Metro Reporter

HARARE-BASED music promoter, Francis “Papa” Dendere, says he prefers to promote and support local artists over foreign acts.

Dendere, who has in the past promoted international shows, revealed he now prefers local artists.

H-Metro’s Nyasha Kada (NK) caught up with Francis Dendere (FD) of Wood Pub & Grill, for a one-on-one chat.

NK: Why is it better to promote local artists over foreign acts?

 FD: Well, for starters local artists are more affordable than foreign artists, that is most of them, in terms of performance fees.

When having a foreign act there are a lot of extra costs involved which include air tickets, accommodation, ZIMRA clearance, immigration clearance fees, censorship board etc.

From my own experience, foreign acts are expensive.

Generally, in most cases it’s affordable and easier to do a show with local acts than foreign acts.

It’s music business at the end of the day, they walk away happy, I walk away happy but the biggest victory goes to Zimbabwean music and artists.

NK: On an average, how many shows are you doing in a month?

FD: I can safely say I am doing a minimum of four local shows per month at the club (Wood Pub & Grill).

We started a drive to support our local talent every Friday whereby we bring in local artists but admission will be free.

The number of shows will definitely increase in the summer as we will be able to also host outdoor shows without any fear of the cold weather.

NK: What have been the results from doing local shows?

FD: So far, all the local shows we have had have been good and rewarding.

Even with most of them being free admission shows, it’s still benefiting us in so many ways.

I say this because some believe local acts are not rewarding but I have seen they are and I believe in them more than ever.

It all goes down to strategic planning, so I urge fellow promoters to plan well and book local artists, that’s how we show support for them.

NK: What have been the results when you had foreign acts?

FD: Honestly speaking, for my team, foreign shows so far have been so stressful and results have been mostly negative.

NK: Any words for other show promoters.

FD: Most of our artists get most of their income from shows so the first thing as promoters and club or other venue owners is to book them.

From my end, like I said before, we now book a local act or acts every Friday.

The general public should also appreciate and support our local acts by paying a reasonable fee to watch the artists perform.

For now, I guess, that’s the first step.