Zimpapers Logo

URBAN BEATS with Nkosilathi Sibanda
WHEN I buy a ticket to watch a show, I expect the entertainer to blow me away. Instead of playing a skit, give me a good run with the guitar and hot up the stage.
We thank those entertainers who gave us an Intwasa moment to remember although last year’s closing show is still the talk of the town.
In the midst of all the blunders that came with the festival during the week, the closing show should be a bomb!
The superstars are what the fans want and they are the money makers at these festivals. Such big names bring in the crowds, huge earnings and endorsement to festival organisers.

Then, the leading thought in the showbiz industry is the so-called sustainability of popular entertainment that comes with festivals such as Intwasa Arts Festival KoBulawayo.

I have no official statistics but having attended all the festivals’ shows, I know numbers have increased. We remain hopeful though, that as the festival grows it will attract the kind of culture that we see at international shows.

On observation, Intwasa has over the years created a business model that is favourable to musicians, promoters and producers.
Instead of spending time and money on a single musician, Intwasa music concerts should in the future maximise on grouping musicians.
And now here is one disturbing sight – “The rise of hypocritical citizens”.

There are some of us who look and sound like Zimbabweans yet it is clear we wish to have been born elsewhere. What a shame!
These are the kind that will live the rest of their lives in the motherland and still not know what makes this country tick.

They are out of touch with what happens at their doorstep. Sadly, they know all about Mzansi television. Real showbiz to them happens on the other side of the border.
I fail to understand how someone living in Bulawayo would say they know nothing about the Intwasa Arts Festival koBulawayo with all the WhatsApp and mobile internet craze abuzz. They must be joking!

Is it not hypocrisy for one to be proudly Zimbabwean and have an appetite for foreign entertainment products? Such insincerity is even treacherous when one chooses to be ignorant of local talent.

I would be damned if I am seen dancing to Sulu Chimbetu and know nothing about an outstanding visual artist in Bulawayo.
But, what has knowledge about South African showbiz got to do with my pride of being a Zimbo?

It does not make sense at all to keep shunning local talent as if our artistes are cursed.
It is worth the experience to reduce one’s DStv subscription to buy a few concert tickets for the family. This is what can turn around the fortunes, when locals support home grown initiatives.

Had we a people that think like big corporates such as Delta Beverages, Zimbabwe’s showbiz sector would be bubbling with success.
Despite the waning support of the arts by the fans over the years, Delta has stood its ground in sponsoring the industry.

Let us help each other change attitudes towards entertainment products that are made by our fellow countrymen.
In respecting our choices and opinions, we ought not to let fellow countrymen wallow in cultural erosion.

Really, one would be best placed in the “culturally inept” class if they do not associate with national events that bear a semblance to nationhood.
Well said, I hope those who have not experienced the flavour of Zimbabwean showbiz will go out and have a taste.

Today being the last of Intwasa, I share what I love about it. The festival exuded high-voltage energy.
Sponsorship for the festival, all the reasons stated was a vital cog of the event. One could almost suggest that without sponsorship there would be no arts festival.
Intwasa and festivals alike in the country are continuously growing despite the economic, environmental or social changes occurring in society.

It is vital for successful businesses to get on the sponsorship bandwagon otherwise they miss out on potential business. The arts are a ready market.
But, I fear a certain blind chauvinism when I hear whispers of some people who underestimate the economic value of the showbiz industry sponsors pulling out.
This terrifies me!

Perhaps it would not terrify me as much if I had the confidence that we could remember to ask ourselves why we are doing these festivals, and make sure we have a good, clear answer.

It is this clarity that seeps through the entire festival experience for all those who participate in it. And, it is the richness of this experience that festivals need to keep at their core.

Remember to support home grown initiatives.

Let us keep the conversation on. Twit @nkosi legend or WhatsApp 0773 481 603