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Andrew Moyo —
WINGATE Golf Club was a hive of activity last Sunday with Unplugged Zimbabwe, one of the country’s biggest outdoor events, celebrating its third anniversary.
Even the rains that threatened to spoil the fun could not deter the massive crowd that turned up for the event that had numerous artistes and DJs including Gemma Griffins, Simba Tagz, Tamy, Killer T, Reverb 7 and TK Beats among others, taking to the stage to spice up the celebrations.
While the festive mood has been on the low, with the current cash crisis controlling people’s spending habits, the atmosphere on this day was supercharged. Cooler boxes, hubbly bubblies and captivating summer fashion characterised the picturesque scene that Unplugged has come to be known for.
With a stage and sound system of international standard, it was obvious the performing artistes would be inspired to shine, and gleam they did.
Tamy, who has been proving to be a force to reckon with despite her young age did not disappoint and managed to pull off an exceptional performance, which had the crowd captivated throughout her intense set.
Another act who might easily have been the best act on the day was Simba Tagz who showcased his maturity as a live performer. With a new album “Natural Selection”, that has danceable Afro-pop tunes, he had the crowd dancing to both current and old hits.
Killer T might not be one of the best performers on the land but his string of hits have always come to his rescue on many occasions and the announcement that he was coming on stage had the majority of the crowd abandoning their chairs and running towards the stage.
The sing-along hits earned the Chairman a huge contingent of backing vocalists as the crowd responded well to his music. After the live performances, various DJs came and mashed up the place with the party carrying on late into the night.
The Sunday Mail Leisure had a chat with Unplugged Zimbabwe founders Chiedza Danha and Ellinah Chipumha who shared some of the memories of their three year journey.
Being well travelled, the two friends attended several unique outdoor events and decided to also introduce something unique for Zimbabwean music lovers.
“We have attended several events from around the world that have a similar concept like ‘Party in the Park’ in London or ‘Blankets and Wine’ in Kenya so we decided to introduce similar events and that is how this movement was born,” said Danha.
She added: “We have always loved music, which is why we embraced the idea of having live music in a chilled setup where people can relax and interact.”
Despite having started small with a paltry crowd of 170 people at their first event, Unplugged has lately been attracting thousands of merrymakers.
The two partners said although their first event had a small number of people, it is the most memorable as it marked the beginning of something big.
“The first event we held at Gecko Gardens in December 2013 is really special to us because despite having a very small crowd, it gave us the belief that it was possible to hold something successful.
“We had come up with the idea just a few weeks before and started advertising on social media with a line-up comprising of Simba Tagz, Edith Weutonga, Victor Kunonga and Sylent Nqo so we were actually surprised with the response we got.”
She said while their primary challenge was sponsorship as they had to finance the programme from their own pockets, they have managed to grow it significantly.
“It is amazing how this event has grown over these three years because at first we used to accommodate just a few hundred people and we are now having crowds of over 3 000 people coming through every month we have an event.”
Hosting around nine events per year, Unplugged is one of the most consistent live music initiatives in the country with a calendar which is published at the beginning of every year.
The two partners quit their jobs three months ago to dedicate their full attention into growing the event even further. Chipumha said that next year they were going to be introducing new elements to Unplugged.
“Since we are now doing this fulltime rather than as a side gig, we have more time to plan so next year we are going to be doing other micro events besides our normal monthly shows.
“We are also looking into spreading the concept to Bulawayo and depending on how it is received, we might end up having Unplugged in Harare and in the City of Kings and Queens.
“Next year we are also going to be bringing in international acts so as to add more diversity to our events,” said Chipumha.
She added that since their initiative was a family friendly event, they did not tolerate any unscrupulous behaviour like violence and drugs.
“We do not tolerate drugs and violence and if anyone is caught doing such, they will be banned from attending any of our events.”
Over the three years that Unplugged has been in existence many top and upcoming acts have graced its stage.
These include superstar Oliver Mtukudzi, Jah Prayzah, Ammara Brown, Winky D, Brayn K, Mokoomba and Hope Masike to name just a few.
Online Reporter