Chronicle Editor
Leonard Ncube, Victoria Falls Reporter
THE “Fill Up” show lived up to expectations with close to 3 000 people turning up at Chinotimba Stadium on Saturday night.
Paul ‘Elder” Shambare organised the musical show through his Express Entertainment stable with artists from Harare and Victoria Falls to warm the stage for a fun filled end of year.
Victoria Falls artistes were represented by Kweseka Band, Mafia King, Navy Boy, Jah Mercy, Express Chimurenga Afro Fusion, Top Kings, MC Mashasha, Afro Dynasty Sounds, DJ Tafydee, DJ Gangster, and MC Stranger.
The main acts from Harare were Sulumani Chimbetu, Hwindi President and Killer T while the likes of Kinnah, MC Abisha Palmer and DJ 2Bad were also part of the act.
Local artists played from around 8PM until around 11PM when the Harare act started.
The show ended after 7AM yesterday, the time when Killer T left the stage when fans were asking for more.
Fans included tourists and others who are already in the resort town for the Victoria Falls Carnival.
Shambare said the show set the tone for an eventful week that will see the resort town playing host to the Victoria Falls Carnival, Mapopoma Festival and other shows.
“Our aim was to fill up Chinotimba Stadium with local and out of town artists and we are happy we exceeded our expectations. People in Victoria Falls do not usually support such events but last night was different as we sold more than 2 500 tickets which is a huge success,” said Shambare.
He said they had never attracted such a turn out before at music events outside the Carnival and Mapopoma.
“This surely set the tone for the Carnival and other activities in town as people danced all night in preparation for the three days of partying. Everyone is in the mood now,” said Shambare.
On the main acts, Kinnah was the first on stage around midnight followed by Hwindi President.
The two did not disappoint as they kept people on their feet.
Next was Chimbetu around 4AM and he gave a polished act sending the crowd into frenzy.
Killer T went on stage in the morning and wowed the crowd until after 7AM.
Chinotimba Stadium is also the venue for Mapopoma Festival which started last night with a local artists’ line up. The festival will run till New Year’s Eve with several shows lined up.
Organisers have said they expect 15 000 people as they seek to promote township tourism.
The Carnival also kicked off last night with a bush train party and organisers expect about 7 000 people over the three-day period.
The venue for the Victoria Falls Carnival which is in its 9th year, is Victoria Falls Primary School where the popular crossover night Unity Concert will be on December 31. The headliners include DJ Maphorisa, AKA and Shekinah among others.— @ncubeleon.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter