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Tonderai Zvimba, Showbiz Reporter
MBIRA fanatics will be spoilt this weekend as Marrakech The Blueroom Shisha restaurant will host renowned Mbira group Mbira Dzenharira this Friday during their Culture Night.

Fans of traditional music will have a rare intimate session with the renowned Mbira group who are famed for their old mellow sound of Mbira neHosho.

Marrakech The Blueroom Shisha restaurant proprietor Rejoice Mafukidze said while most promoters had their focus on hosting international artistes, they believe in local talent.

“Zimbabwe is full of vast heritage and we should appreciate and celebrate our own.

“Many promoters tend to bring foreign artistes and contemporary musicians leaving out traditional musicians so the aim of Culture Night is to promote traditional musicians and our culture,” Mafukidze said.

“Going forward, we’re planning to have Culture Nights every month and we’ll be hosting many other traditional musicians.”

The show is expected to start at 6PM with patrons expected to pay $5 to enter.

Mafukidze said all the group members will be present including Tendayi Gahamadze who composes, sings and plays the baritone mbira (Dongonda), Clemence Rice who plays the bass mbira (Nhovapasi), Takawira Devera who plays lead mbira (Nheketo) and Tendai Kazuru who plays shakers (Hosho).

Mbira Dzenharira, a group which was formed 31 years ago in Norton, will be performing in Bulawayo for the first time.

The Mbira outfit which boasts of 12 albums and three DVD’s revolutionised the sound of Mbira by stimulating and rearranging the instruments into bass baritone, rhythm and lead Mbira.