Chitoliro Productionz, organisers of the Urban Music People (UMP) Festival, may have set themselves unprecedented challenge by seeking to ressurect the fun feast at multiple venues.
The returning festival was designed to take place simultaneously at six different sites along the Lake Malawi lakeshore at Cape Maclear in Mangochi.
The sites were designed for different activities such as fashion and modelling, film showcases, beach soccer and volleyball.
The furthest of the venues was at Lake Malawi National Park where the Evison Matafale Tribute Stage was mounted.
At this site, access was free. The organising team said the move was designed to allow the host communities to feel part of the event.
Festival director Ken ‘Zizwa’ Limwame said: “The festival is not just for people who will come from f a r. The communities around here are equally crucial to everything happening here.”
The set-up, as exciting as it was on paper, proved challenging for the festival-goers to split themselves and keep up with all the activities.
Resultantly, a majority chose to confine themselves to the main site at Fat Monkeys where the main stage was mounted. They contented themselves with the music side of the festival.
The music dimension of the three-day event probably provided the most thrills.
Over 40 local and international acts were assembled for the festival and most of them lifted the event to a new level with their performances.
Malawi ’s music expor t Onesimus was undoubtedly the star of the event. His performance put a shade even on the international headliners. He perfectly underlined the adage of “local is lekker”.
As has been his trajectory over the past two years, Onesimus was on top of his game. Both his energy and vocal projection were sublime. He wowed the audience with distinction.
Much was expected of the Nigerian Magixx, but it’s fair to say he did not live up to expectation.
After Onesimus ’ performance, the feeling was that the tempo would be maintained. But the Overdose star at times seemed to lack the necessary focus and energy to match his global profile.
Another bright spot was the performance of Nepman. The Ng’ona za M’mabango star was floating on cloud nine. It appears with age, he is just getting better and better.
Nigerian soul singer Anise brought a new feel altogether. Her delivery was faultless.
And as her music demanded, the audience stood and listened with complete attention.
However, the drawback appeared to be the prevailing fuel crisis. The numbers which made it to the event was below expectations.
Another hiccup was the Burning Spear show which happened on Saturday in Lilongwe. It appears fun lovers were split in their choices of which event to attend.
Limamwe said the response the event received has given them the momentum to do more next year.
“ There is room for improvement, but we are happy with the outcome. Next year, we are coming back and it will be at the same venue,” he said.
In a separate interview, Onesimus applauded the organisers for giving the artists a platform to showcase their craft.
He said: “When you have Malawians putting together an event of this magnitude it shows people have the spirit to develop the creative industry. I am grateful that I was given a chance to showcase my music here.”
