Central Region gospel artists wary over combined shows
Central Region Gospel Musician Association (Cegma) has expressed reservations over conducting Gospel shows alongside secular artists.
In an interview on Tuesday, Cegma president Lameck Soko warned that several cautions ought to be deployed prior to hosting such shows.
His remarks come in the wake of “A date with the Stars” live music show which Tunisian-based reggae musician Tamanyawaka Chavula has organised in Lilongwe. The music fest will see both secular and Gospel artists perform at Lilongwe Golf Club on Sunday.
But in response, Tamanyawaka remained upbeat; arguing that both sets of artists and fans alike have a role to contribute to the welfare of the underprivileged.
“Much as this is said to help generate money for the underprivileged, the challenge is how do we control or handle two different sets of fans in such a mixed gathering? What makes it even worse is that the shows tend to turn dangerously territorial and can cause a breeding ground for hate and violence as both beer and public smoking are never regulated and swearing becomes the order of the day.
“Probably, if the organisers could have settled for a much more ‘neutral ‘venue for the two sets of fans to equally enjoy the shows; otherwise all I see is a great controversy between the sides,” Soko said.
He also brushed off suggestions that such shows can help evangelise the masses that are otherwise unreached by the faith groups.
“I don’t think this is ideal. Not even Jesus was ever recorded to have gone into public pubs and night clubs to spread the Gospel. Actually, this tends to take the form of a contest of some sort, which, unfortunately, is not the way to go in evangelism,” Soko added.
The Sunday show comes exactly two years after Tamanyawaka first courted controversy in 2011 by organising a similar music show featuring artists from both secular and Gospel divides at Kalikuti Hotel where the Black Missionaries insisted they are not a secular band.
The move somehow backfired as several Gospel artists pulled out of the show at the eleventh hour, arguing performing alongside secular musicians would greatly undermine their reputation in religious circles.
Notable names who withdrew from the 2011 concerts held in Blantyre and Lilongwe included Ethel Kamwendo-Banda, Lloyd Phiri and the Favoured Sisters before their recent split up.
But two years down the line, Tamanyawaka, a self- acclaimed princess of reggae in the country, believes this time she has gotten it better as she claims the show will benefit the society at large irrespective of their affiliations.
“What I am saying is differences aside; you’ll find out that we are all indebted to the same fans. They are the ones that promote us; they buy our music, and they enrich us of course. It’s not even enough to claim that we entertain them because they pay for it as well. Therefore, as artists, we don’t have to be there just to expect from our fans; we can also reach out and touch the underprivileged. It’s high time we gave back to the societies that help mould all of us into the so-called stars we may be called today,” she said.
