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For their efforts they walked away with $1 000 in cash and will represent the province at the national finals set for the end of September.
The provincial finals were held at Mankomo Beer Hall with almost 400 people attending.
The six-member group were runners-up last year and showed that perseverance pays after their success at this year’s edition.
Tangapasi Band beat off stiff competition from Matjinge Stars and Insiza Express who came second and third respectively.
The day was filled with pomp and fanfare with guest judges such as, Majahawodwa “Jeys Marabini” Ndlovu, Chase Skuza and Densen Kulube among the scores of people at the event.
The level of competition was very high as there was no clear winner with all groups being fans’ favourites.
Tangapasi brought in a new sound of Afro Jazz mixed with reggae and mbaqanga, and this was the difference that earned them the top prize as all other groups were playing sungura.
Matjinge Stars entered the competition for the first time and came second.
The competition is sponsored by Delta Beverages through their Chibuku brand and was in conjunction with National Arts Council of Zimbabwe (NCAZ).
During the day, Chibuku beer was handed out like confetti at a wedding and people scrambled to have a taste of the “food and drink”.
Questions were posed to the audience and those who answered were given one, two or even three Chibuku drinks for their participation.
At the end of the day the place was filled with heavily intoxicated men and women who danced to Chase, who gave a one hour performance at the venue.
Tangapasi Band leader, Spencer Ngwenya was speechless and could not hide his joy at winning and his wife Pamela also could not contain her happiness.
Ngwenya said the group would leave for Durban on Saturday evening so as to market and showcase their talent in South Africa.
“I am excited and happy with the win. The competition was stiff and it is unbelievable that we have won. After this we will be boarding a bus and going to Durban to do shows for the next week. This is to promote our music that we call Nu-Afrow,” he said.
Tangapasi’s act had songs in Ndebele, Nambya and Kalanga which proved popular with the crowd.
Chase said this year’s competition was stiff and the acts had improved.
However, he said some groups lost marks because their acts showed that they had not practised.
“The groups should be prepared to perform. As a musician I can see whether or not the group has practised and it is unfortunate that some did not do that,” said Chase.
He said some groups should polish up their vocals and should coordinate the introduction, body and conclusion of their acts.
“We were looking at presentation and also attire and how the group introduced themselves. Some lost it after not utilising their allotted time. Their introduction, body and conclusion was not up to scratch but the winners satisfied our criteria,” said Chase.
He suggested that the provincial winners should be given recording contracts in the future to record their music.
NACZ provincial director, Nokuthula Moyo hailed the event as a success and thanked Delta for their support of the arts.
“The music and the turnout were great and the day was a success. We thank Delta for their continued support for the arts and we would like urge them to continue,” he said.
A reveller who preferred anonymity, praised the organisers of the competition saying it put Gwanda town on the map.
He urged Delta and NACZ to look for a larger venue such as Pelandaba Stadium to host next year’s event.
Other groups that performed at the event were, Vumbachikwe Stars, Vumba Stars, The Reason Super Challengers, Dynamic Brothers and Danger Scorpions.
Online Reporter