admin
Langalakhe Mabena
THE year 2024 has seen a rise in events that are organised to meet the “older and mature” crowd’s demands as promoters craft gigs in a manner that celebrates yesteryear classical music and feed its starving following.
This has become a popular niche amongst promoters who have spotted a gap to satisfy the older generation by providing them with gigs that celebrate the music they grew up listening to.
These kinds of shows have seen promoters mainly from Harare and Bulawayo making a killing as most of these events are sold-out. One of the massive promotion brands that has capitalised on this segment in the showbiz market is the Pup Choir, which has managed to tour Zimbabwe staging shows that celebrate different genres and yesteryear musicians.
They have created Gospel, Sungura, as well as Urban Groves concerts all over the country as they will be performing cover songs by legendary musicians be it Mtukudzi, John Chibadura, Simon Chimbetu, to mention a few.
Last year, in Bulawayo they staged a gig in remembrance of Irish Pop Group – West Life, at a sold-out event held at the Large city hall. Last month, they held an event at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF) as they belted out cover hits from Urban groups, singing songs by Ex-Q, Leonard Mapfumo, Extra Large, Chigutiro, David Chipfunyise, Betty Makaya, Sani Makalima, Decibel, to mention a few.
On 7 July, old school Hip Hop and RnB lovers were treated to a once in a lifetime gig, which afforded them to chill and listen to old mature gems from both genres at the Private School event held at (ZITF) Pavilion.
It was the second edition of the Private School gig after they held a successful event last year in December. One of the organisers of the event, Davison “Diva” Feliate said the idea of hosting this kind of yesteryear gig came after noticing a gap in the market as Hip Hoppers and RnB lovers were not satisfied as local clubs don’t play much music from these genres.
“Many of us grew up listening to Hip-Hop and RnB/Soul and it’s been long since we staged gigs that catered for that kind of music only. You go to the club and the DJs play one or two tracks and that’s it. They then divert to the music of the moment, which is your House or AmaPiano.
“So, we saw a gap in the market as we realised people don’t usually get what they would like to consume (Hip-Hop/RnB/Soul) and we decided to craft the gig to meet the demands of the genres in the market. The response towards this show is great, especially after considering that we are building it on the success of our first show, which he hosted last year. We did market research and people were keen on the idea of the show. The event was sold out, a sign that people embrace such kind of entertainment,” said Feliate.
He said they were grateful for the support that they always get from the revellers as they are the ones who make the event exciting and memorable.
“Usually, this event was only for Hip Hoppers and RnB lovers, but in the last edition, we played a bit of old Kwaito music, which most of us grew up listening to and the ideas came out nicely as people sang and danced to the music we played. The crowd is always mature because it’s strictly not under 23 years and this ensures that we maintain peace and order. This is the reason why we don’t have a VIP section because we value that the people who attend these shows are responsible,” said Feliate.
Online Reporter