CHIMURENGA music guru Thomas "Mukanya" Mapfumo will be the main attraction at the Southern African Music Airwaves festival in the United Kingdom in August.

Also featuring at the event will be dancehall man-of-the-moment, Winky D, Roki and Mafriq with Trompies (South Africa) and Danny (Zambia) completing the line-up.

There will be a special appearance by the Noisettes, one of the hottest indie rock bands in the United Kingdom led by Zimbabwean-born vocalist and bass guitarist Shingai Shoniwa.

The two-day festival, organised by Y2K Entertainment Promotions, will be staged at the University of Leeds and the Rockwood Athletics Park in Luton on August 29 and 30.

Y2K Entertainment Promotions is a United Kingdom-based entertainment company started by Southern African entrepreneurs in 2000 and has since its establishment held several successful shows involving high-profile performers such as Mapfumo and Nigeria’s Labagja.

"It’s going to be a memorable open-air event," said Frederick Matenga, one of the Y2K Entertainment Promotions directors.

"We have looked into different genres such as chimurenga, R&B, rock, reggae and kwaito and we have come up with some of the best acts from southern Africa.

"Shingai and the Noisettes, the chart-topping and one of the hottest acts in Britain seen in a popular Mazda advert on TV, will do a guest appearance at the festival.

"She is from Zimbabwe, but very few Africans have seen this phenomenal talent in action."

Matenga said that Y2K said it was important to introduce some of Zimbabwe’s upcoming artistes on the international stage.

"SAMA Festival 2009 will give a platform to exciting talent such as Roki, Mafriq and Winky Dee to show the UK and the world what they can do.

"Mapfumo and the Trompies need no introduction. We are only expecting the best yet to come from these legends.

"Add the impressive Danny from Zambia and the result will be an unforgettable family show."

Roki, of the Chidzoka fame, says he will not be overwhelmed rubbing shoulders with some of Africa’s top entertainers.

"I’m humbled to be offered to perform at the festival with big musicians such as Mukanya, Trompies and others.

"It’s a good thing for us as a young group but we’ll show how we have matured over the years.

"Entertaining is our job. Every day we perform we’ll be doing it with London in mind. I’ve been studying the map of England and, yah, all I can say is we’ll rock them.
"We’ve new things and we’ll just show how serious we are in this business."

Pauline Gundidza, the leading vocalist of the Afro-pop group Mafriq, is also excited about the festival.

"We’re very excited about this opportunity and our band has been doing a lot of rehearsing and rebranding ahead of the festival," said Pauline.

"We are also learning new stuff from a traditional group which we’ll incorporate into our acts.

"Our music is urban but we are trying to keep it cultural.".

She said she was hopeful the SAMA Festival 2009 would open up opportunities for the exciting Harare group.

"Mafriq has a 20-song album which we’ve been holding on to because we couldn’t get a good record deal as a result of the economic situation in Zimbabwe. But the songs have been doing well on local radio and we believe playing at the festival is a platform to showcase to the world what we can do and who knows we might get an international record deal."herald