Blessed Katiyo in JOHANNESBURG
FORMER Zimbabwe Warriors captain Willard Katsande will this weekend rekindle his musical bromance with sungura guru Alick Macheso in what could be Orchestra Mberikwazvo’s last shows here before the year ends.
Katsande, who has since retired from active football, is the brains behind the two shows that will take place in Johannesburg on Friday and Saturday.
The first show will be at the Kempton Park Civic Centre on Friday and will be followed by another at Jacaranda Lounge (formerly known as Platinum Lounge) near Cosmo City, north of Johannesburg.
This will be Macheso’s second tour of the country after his hugely successful show held in Kempton Park at the end of April.
Ironically, it was Katsande, who was making his dive into the music promotion business, who was behind that tour.
He teamed up with other promoters but this time he is going in solo with his Boss Ya Mboka clothing brand.
“As we previously indicated, the Boss Ya Mboka brand is here to stay and we are not pulling back,” Katsande told H-Metro.
“We are again teaming up with Baba Sharo as we open the Spring season.
“Orchestra Mberikwazvo is undoubtedly one of the leading musical brands and we have decided their fans in South Africa deserve to get a treat now that winter is almost over.”
He added:
“We are ready for the shows and everything is in order.
“The band will be arriving on Thursday and we urge all fans to get their tickets early to avoid administrative hassles at the gates.
“We have arranged enough security to ensure the safety of all the fans and we promise everyone is going to have a good time.”
The Macheso camp has indicated they are ready and raring to go.
“We can confirm that the shows are on,” said Victor Sithole, who manages the band’s affairs in this country.
“We are expecting the band to leave Harare and arrive here on Thursday.
“We are in touch with the promoters to ensure that everything goes smoothly.
“There is another show in Cape Town on Sunday and we again expect that fans will turn up in their hundreds.”
Macheso is one artist who normally draws capacity crowds when he performs here and this weekend is unlikely to be any different.
Dubbed the people’s band, Orchestra Mberikwazvo’s appeal runs very deep among Zimbabweans.