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Melissa Mpofu/Bongani Ndlovu, Recently in Gwanda
Dr Tumi, Deborah Fraser, Thinah Zungu and Mathias Mhere lit up the just ended Gwanda International Gospel Music Festival that was held at Phelandaba Stadium over the weekend.

The gold mining town came to a standstill as thousands gathered at the venue that had the crème dela crème of artistes from Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Running under the theme “The Walls of Jericho Did Fall”, the festival started off on Friday and ended yesterday with a church service at Brethren in Christ Church (BICC).

The fourth edition of the festival this year was more of a celebration of the dawn of a new era in Zimbabwe. The message throughout the festival was that Zimbabwe must be blessed and that the walls that stood in its path of blessings had fallen down.

For the first time, the festival was broadcast live on ZBCtv on Friday and Saturday, giving everyone in the country an opportunity to praise and worship with those in Gwanda.

Nothing however can beat a live experience as it is quite a different atmosphere when one is in the crowd watching the acts live compared to watching on TV.

The festival was indeed a family affair as young children accompanied their parents to the show. It was as if the whole town was in the stadium which was packed to the rafters.

Kudos to Events Evolution, a local company who erected a world class stage that had a good sound system.

On the first day, Dr Tumi, who is the biggest gospel musician in Africa at the moment, closed off the show with a sublime and soul soothing worship performance that included songs such as You Are Here, Jesus Song and Wafika Kimi. Although the artiste felt the crowd was not responding to his set, the people of Gwanda, who are generally a reserved lot, were actually watching attentively and soaking in his music. And after the show, most people said they enjoyed his set.

Before Dr Tumi, the crowd was entertained by groups such as Indosakusa: The Morning Star who brought their imbube flavour that the fans appreciated.
Mathias Mhere was in top form and was therefore a joy and marvel to watch on Saturday.

He worked the stage well and sent the crowd into a frenzy each time he sang using his tagline “Tell your neighbour I need some space”. The fans jumped and shouted in joy as he sang tracks such as MaTables, crowd favourite Favour, among others.

Mhere and ZCC Mbungo have become regulars at the festival because of their high energy on stage and ability to wow crowds.

However, it was Deborah Fraser that the crowd were looking forward to watching on Saturday. Taking to the stage after midnight, the Abanye Bayembona hit-maker, showed music lovers why she was a multi-award winning artiste as she took them through her discography. What a marvel to watch.

Special mention should be given to the evergreen Thinah Zungu from South Africa. The singer has a powerful commanding voice and he delivered on his promise that it would be a night of dancing, praise and worship.

Besides the established artistes, there was a whole plethora of talent on stage that astonished many. Among these was the BICC Jahunda Choir and Vocal Ex.

The fireworks display concluded the good night of praise and worship.