Glitz, glamour of Sound and Light Concert

Afair crowd thronged the beaches of Sunbird Livingstonia Beach Hotel to attend the Sound and Light Concert which proved to be a satisfying entertainment package for the patrons. The concert was held from the September 29 to 30 in Salima.

A cross section of fans interviewed during the event expressed satisfaction at the way the concert was designed.

“To me, everything was on point. The spacious venue provided my family with comfort to dance freely,” said Alinane Mzungu, who travelled from Salima Boma with her family.

The show also attracted reactions on social media with one Muquta Buruda Pillane praising organisers for promoting local talent.

“TJ Banda, i’ve repeatedly said this to you ‘you are an inspiration’. Keep putting out country on the map. I wish you all the best,” wrote Pillane.

Entertainers Promotions manager Tonderai Jai Banda reffered by Pillane as TJ Banda could not hide his excitement, describing this year’s event as a huge step and comfort to their past disappointment.

“I am impressed with this year’s event. I was not expecting that a festival which strictly featured local talents could attract such a huge audience. I mean, this is the way to go. My overall impression is that Malawian artists are crowd pullers who can deliver the best if given necessary platform and resources. It all starts with  mindset change towards them,” he said adding that the crowd could have been bigger.

Organisation

Unlike 2015’s Sound and Light Concert, this year’s event was organised for two days, a development which created room for the 30 performers to showcase their talents. There were also extra activities to build up the momentum and excitement of the event. For example, two stages were mounted to ensure maximum interaction among the audience. The main stage, christened Alpha, faced the northern side and the other one called Beach faced south.

Initially, the big stage, which provided an equally dramatic distant view with linear lights around the speakers and its top front was designed to accommodate big acts that performed with live bands. But demand for big stage experience from up-and-coming artists forced the organisers to  accommodate them.

One of the promising artists ‘Sir’ Patricks relished the experience.

“This is my first time to come to Sunbird Livingstonia Beach to perform at Sound and Light Concert. I have really liked the experience because the big stage is something else,” said ‘Sir’ Patricks who was backed by Fire Links Band.

“We had no choice but to level the playing field. After all, we wanted to give both young and established artists a wonderful experience of the big stage,” said Tonderai.

Sound matters

The stage, which had the much publicised gleaming multi-coloured lights and smoke, was replete with powerful equipment and specialised sound engineering services of Entertainers Promotions. Collen Ali, who manned the sound console faultlessly transfered signals to the people on the main stage to perfect the sound output.

The equipment was rightly tuned to produce sound which penetrated a radius of 500 metres. The likes of the Black Missionaries Band, Lucius Banda and his Zembani Band, Ethel Kamwendo Banda and Patience Namadingo managed to dish out energetic live performances that required a standard sound output to satisfy the audience.

One of the fans, Dumbani Mzale, said he drove from Lilongwe to be part of the event. “I came here specifically for Black Missionaries and I am impressed with their stage work,” said Mzale.

However, the band registered its concern for always scheduled to perform at the very end the show, arguing they want to interact with their fans earlier or at the middle of the programme.

“We are not happy with the tendency of many event organisers who usually schedule us to perform at the very end while people are tired. This has to stop,” said the bassist of the Black Missionaries Band, Peter Amidu.

Audience security

Breaking into people’s cars, fights and drowning are common cases associated with lake side activities. However, observations indicated that Entertainers Promotions had invested heavily in security.

There were over five professional swimmers who were strategically placed on the beach to prevent people from going to the furthest points.

Over 20 police ifficers were deployed in different places to provide security and control vehicle traffic.  Family time

From swimming to beach soccer and music, Sunbird Livingstonia Beach turned into another classic example of family entertainment hub over the weekend.