Over the four nights, the audiences at the Amphitheatre, Forodhani Gardens and Mambo Club watched great artistes such as Pat Thomas, Bob Maghrib, Swahili Encounters and Kyekyeku among others.
Zanzibar. After four days of performances, the Sauti za Busara music festival came to a climax on Sunday night with 10 performances on three different stages in and around Ngome Kongwe.
Over the four nights, the audiences at the Amphitheatre, Forodhani Gardens and Mambo Club watched great artistes such as Pat Thomas, Bob Maghrib, Swahili Encounters and Kyekyeku among others.
With close to 4,000 people in attendance, Sunday was a night that showcased African talent and diversity on a grand scale.
The attendance records that the festival registered is something that organisers admitted will take some hard work to replicate in the next festival.
On this day the artistes who graced the stage were Kiumbizi from Pemba, Imena Cultural Troupe from Rwanda, Usambara Sanaa Group, Roland Tchakounte from Cameroon and Madalitso from Malawi.
Others were Simba and Milton Gulli from Mozambique, Cocodo African Music Band, Kidumbak Group from Zanzibar, Karyna Gomes from Guinea Bissau and Rocky Dawuni from Ghana.
Those who stood out on the night were Roland Tchakounte and Karyna Gomes whose performances got the audience dancing.
But as Roland mesmerised the audience with his blues performance that last about an hour, it was Karyna Gomes who got the audience singing with her rendition of Malaika, a popular East African tune.
Though Malaika is believed to have been written by an East African artiste it was largely popularised by South African legend Miriam Makeba, aka Mama Africa.
Speaking to The Citizen, Karyna said though this was her first ever performance in East Africa she felt connected with the audience from start to the end.
“It was amazing for me to perform Malaika here in the backyard where it was written and it was awesome to hear them sing along,” said Gomes whose career kicked off in 2005
She added that the choice of choosing to perform Malaika was based on the fact that her music has influences from all over the world.
“I am from Guinea Bissau but my upbringing in Brazil and Portugal meant that I had to cut out an identity of my own.”
Though she is the third trimester of her pregnancy she still had the energy to move the cosmopolitan audience.
“I love being on stage even with this state because it is just what I love doing most,” said the mother of two who is due to give birth to her third child in April.
In another development, the Sauti Za Busara organiser yesterday announced the dates for the next edition of the festival.
Speaking to The Citizen just before Rocky Dawuni’s last performance, festival director Yusuf Mahmoud said they were confident that the festival would take place as planned because of the early preparations.
“Next year we shall be back on February 8 so book your dates as early as possible for the next edition,” he said.
