When it comes to the experience of live music, the setting and prelude are almost always as important as the concert itself. This is something Sofar Sounds understands. Sounds From A Room that can sometimes be found in anything but a room.
From its first edition in 2023, it has endeavoured to create a platform that introduces people to new places and new names, while celebrating unheralded talents. Curated by Khumbulani Muleya, it invites the open minded, while combining the ambiance of quaint settings with gifted music talents. This recipe has seen the Harare chapter of this global concept continue to grow year after and after, with an ever longer list of alumni.
For its 28th edition, Sofar Sounds Harare celebrated women's month with an all women concert for climate and equality. It brought together the classical and the ancestral at the iconic Chapungu Sculpture Park, while also fundraising for Sivio’s We Are One-Tiripamwe-Sisonke Fund, a collaborative initiative that supports survivors of gender-based violence (GBV).
Chapungu Sculpture Park exists at the confluence of a botanical garden and a art gallery, providing a near perfect backdrop for an intimate concert. To add to it there was also an all women art exhibition around the concert space, that was particularly emotive.
The quintet gracing Sofar Sounds' women's month celebration featured Matala Manda, Chioniso Rutsito, Verikai, Mary Anibal and Tahle We Dzinza. As custom, the acts were revealed as they took to the stage. An integral part of Sofar's enigmatic nature, that always sees an eclectic audience in attendance. Half of which were Sofar first timers on this occasion.
The concert's production was supported by a female-inclusive technical team made up of six aspiring sound engineers from HerStage, an initiative founded by Mary Anibal to train young women in stage management, technical production and artist liaison.
Named after the flame lily, Zimbabwe's national flower, Matala Manda's mbira centred performance was just as beautiful and the perfect sonic icebreaker. Chioniso Rutsito recited age old Shona poetry in display of folk music, that had a backtrack of mbira, drums, guitar and the horn. The performance was punctuated by a dedication to the weight of poverty on women, that felt particularly poignant.
Verikai, the duo of Verity and Sekai, brought a shift to the classical, that meandered into pop and had its pinnacle as a rendition of Oliver Mtukudzi's "Neria." Captivating enough to put an end to all conversations, a moment that left the audience in awe.
There was an ebb and flow to the music that was particularly fitting for the company of nature and a setting sun. Mary Anibal came on stage with a return to the sounds of mbira and beautifully collaborated with the violinist Verity for a rendition of "Gogoride."
Tahle We Dzinza was the night's closing act, and she saw to it that the crickets chirping was put to shame with a vocal performance that certainly had the uvula dancing.
From sunset to starlight, we had journeyed from the ancestral, to the classical, with a stop through the contemporary. A concert experience were you don't singalong but just observe and appreciate. My favourite Sofar Sounds experience yet.
Greedysouth rating: 7.4/10
Gamu Mliaburny shot all the images included in this article.