Ethel Kamwendo-Banda magic
She is queen of gospel music in Malawi. Before turning to gospel, she was already a darling as a secular musician. Her name is Ethel Kamwendo-Banda.
When she announced a few months ago that she would release three albums at once many doubted her. But on Friday at Bingu International Convention Centre (Bicc), the gospel songbird proved why she is the queen of gospel music when she delivered a powerful performance.
One thing that stood out during the launch was the introduction of her son Peter.
Kamwendo-Banda took advantage of the event to present to the patrons her first-born son, Peter, as an artist in his own right.
Peter did not disappoint. He proved to be a force to reckon with in the songs he performed before his mother took over.
His first piece on stage was a praise and worship song which he performed with his mother’s passion. His gestures and melodies moved the audience who clapped in appreciation at every given opportunity.
Clad in pink tweed jacket, black pair of trousers and a black bowtie and a white shirt, Peter, in one of the songs he performed, displayed new stage antics.
During the performance, which sounded more like a fusion of rock and pop music, he did the moon walk dance. His slender body giving him an advantage to look like the one-time king of pop music, Michael Jackson.
Although his imitation of Michael Jackson’s dance was not perfect, it entertained the patrons and gave them hope on what lies ahead, considering that this was his first stage appearance.
In his last song on stage, he revealed that he produced one of the three albums his mother was launching.
He said, “As I was producing the album, Tate Ndinu, I decided to take advantage of the situation and did a collaboration with my mother on the song Zikomo.”
At this moment, Ethel came on stage and jointly performed the praise and worship song with her son.
Together, they were a marvel to watch and brought silence to the gigantic auditorium of the Bicc.
Zikomo turned out to be a ceremonial cue for Ethel to take over as Peter left the stage for the songs which followed were done by Ethel. She first performed songs from the worship album produced by Peter.
The other two albums are an Afro music gospel Moyo Wanga recorded in South Africa and produced by Obama and Ndili Pa Nzere produced by Joseph Tembo.
Soon after an extensive praise and worship session, Ethel moved her performance to another level which took patrons in the Bicc auditorium to the dance floor.
It was clear that the people were not disappointed with what Ethel dished out. One could easily say that Ethel has come of age.
Present in the audience were a number of public figures, including Mama Cecilia Kadzamira, who was an official hostess to the country’s founding president Hastings Kamuzu Banda.
