Steve Dyer honours Jeys

Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter

AS he celebrates 34 years in the music industry, Jeys Marabini is set to receive the ultimate honour on 19 October when South African music legend Steve Dyer jets in to grace a gig held in his honour.

Dyer will headline the Friends of Jeys Marabini in Concert gig, which will also feature Pastor Barrack, Thandy Dhlana and Mzoe 7. The event, which is a brainchild of Sabela Projects, will be held at the Academy of Music.

Marabini has been on a victory lap for most of this year, as he celebrates several milestones in his career.

Earlier this year, the marabi musician played before President Mnangagwa and his Kenyan counterpart, President William Ruto, during a State banquet held in the City of Kings, a performance he rated as one of his most significant.

Only a few years after he seemed down and out after being bedridden with illness, Marabini said a lot of promoters and fellow artistes were now eager to give him his flowers while he could still smell them.

Leading the charge is Sabela Projects, who felt that the City of Bulawayo should not wait for illness or death to honour one of its most consistent and hard-working artistes.

It is with this mind that Steve Dyer was invited for the gig.

“Sometimes you feel that it is important to celebrate your achievements and the support you get from the people from your city,” said Marabini.

“Celebrating with the people from the region where you live and grew up is important. I have been in the music industry for many years so Mambazo thought it would be a good idea that I get celebrated while I am still alive. He said I had stood the test of time and my journey had inspired a lot of other musicians. He said that I had stood out as a musician both in good and bad times so as Sabela Music he thought that it would be a good idea to celebrate me while I was still alive.”

Marabini said Dyer’s appearance was not by chance, as they had struck a good rapport over the years.

He said he had been invited to the musician’s impressive studios during a visit to South Africa last year.

“In 2023 I went to South Africa for a workshop that brought together many African countries. It brought together a lot of musicians, promoters, and businessmen and I was one of the people selected to be a part of that event. We were there for about a week and I had been constantly communicating with Steve before that occasion and he said since I was now in South Africa I could come and visit him at his place.

“I drove to his place and I visited his studio. He is someone who has done a lot and is very passionate about music in Africa and that’s what I realised when I visited his place. In Zimbabwe, he has assisted Oliver Mtukudzi, produced his album and he has performed in different parts of Africa,” he said.

Marabini said after establishing a relationship with Dyer, he had promised that he would one day invite him to perform alongside him in his native country. Dyer will not be charging the promoters anything for his appearance at the gig.

“I told him I would invite him to come to Zimbabwe one day and I don’t think he believed it. So, it is a great honour for me for him to agree to come because he is the type of musician who has seen it all. He is coming here to perform for free and he’s doing this as an appreciation of my career and also as part of the cultural exchange that we need to have as Africans,” he said.

Marabini said he had also received encouragement from the National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NACZ), who would be waiving their usual fees for the appearance of a foreigner on Zimbabwean soil.

“In the past, I have done something like this so it is more of a continuation of that same concept. This time it will be a bit different because we have invited Steve Dyer to celebrate with us. When I wrote the National Arts Council about Steve Dyer they gave me a lot of support and to show this they gave us a waiver because they said I had contributed a lot to the music industry over the years. They said it was a noble thing to celebrate all my lifetime achievements with my fans, family, and other Zimbabweans. So, the waiver was their contribution towards this effort,” he said.

Marabini said the gig was important to him, as it signified a desire to honour him while he still lived.

Marabini is set to also hold a workshop with local artistes a day after the event.

“On the 19th we will have the show and then the next day we will have a workshop and we are inviting all the musicians to come through to the Trade Fair. This is all about celebration and that is the most important aspect of this noble cause. For me, being celebrated while I am alive is very important and I look forward to what is going to be a big day,” said Marabini.