FOR one evening, a quiet garden in Mount Pleasant was transformed into one of Harare’s most intimate live music spaces as Sofar Sounds hosted its 33rd concert at the Golden Palm Hotel on Saturday.
The poolside showcase drew a culturally diverse audience that included incoming United Nations resident coordinator Rosemary Kalapurakal, multidisciplinary artist Sherman Baloyi and lawyer-author Petina Gappah, among others. Guests gathered around a glowing blue swimming pool, seated on cushions, blankets, garden chairs and poolside tiles beneath fairy lights that flickered across the garden as the night unfolded.
Around the venue, vendors sold handcrafted products, jewellery, clothing and skincare items, giving the event the feel of a curated cultural market as much as a concert.
Hosted by MC Chelezela, the line-up blended emerging talent with established performers. Afro-pop and traditional fusion musician Mbeu headlined the show, while Afro-fusion vocalist Tino Maruba, mbira player Daisy Zigode and genre-bending group Funtastic 4 completed the bill.
Zigode opened the night with a stripped-back performance built around mbira and vocals, delivering a set that felt earthy, hypnotic and deeply rooted in tradition.
Maruba followed with a duo featuring saxophone and keyboard players, both students at Prince Edward High School. The young singer, who studies at Music Crossroads Zimbabwe, performed a mix of covers and original tracks, including Zvichanaka and Shanda.
“There’s something special about a crowd of people who come just to listen, no distractions, no noise, just music and intention. As an artist who believes music should be healing, it felt like home,” Maruba said.
“Sofar reminds you why live music matters. My work is rooted in hope and self-belief. Saturday felt like collective healing. Seeing people close their eyes, sway, or just breathe with the music that’s the point for me. I walked off feeling grateful and full.”
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The evening also featured a belated birthday celebration for Sofar curator Khumbulani Muleya. Guests born in April were invited on stage as Hyatt Regency Harare The Meikles representative May Ly presented a chocolate cake.
Mbeu took to the stage as the third act, bringing a performance steeped in the musical influence of the late Oliver Mtukudzi. The Mhondi Yenguva hitmaker delivered crowd favourites, including Mavanga, Mumwe Wangu, Ndoringa Imi, Manera and Mhondi Yenguva.
His commanding vocals carried across the garden as the audience sang along.
“Amazing. It was a very refreshing atmosphere different from night life,” he told IndependentXtra in an interview. “It gave a spark to the whole performance, and allowed interactions with fans. I would say it was a very beautiful experience.”
Gappah said Mbeu was one of the evening’s standout discoveries for her.
“I was very lucky that I arrived before Mbeu performed. I didn’t know him at all, so for me he was like the biggest discovery of my year,” she said.
As darkness settled in, fairy lights illuminated the venue and shifted the mood from reflective to celebratory when Funtastic 4 stepped onto the stage.
Led by Exodus Chauke, the group fused African rhythms with the signature sound of a talk box, using a tube connected from keyboard to mouth to bend electronic notes into human-like vocal effects.
Their energetic set featured renditions of Burna Boy’s Wetin Man Go Do and On The Low, before the atmosphere exploded into a full dance party. Guests abandoned their seats and crowded the poolside dance floor during performances of Kevin Lyttle’s Turn Me On and Rupee’s Tempted to Touch.
By the time the band closed with Rihanna and Calvin Harris’ We Found Love and the Black Eyed Peas anthem ‘I Gotta Feeling’, the entire garden had turned into an open-air celebration.
“The crowd was on fire, and the environment made it intimate for both the crowd and us artists. We felt like we were just one big family, and everything felt so refreshing,” Chauke said.
The night extended beyond the Sofar stage through a partnership with Afro-fusion outfit Mokoomba, which hosted an after-party performance at REPS Theatre in Belgravia. Sofar guests received discounted tickets to the concert.
Saturday’s Harare edition formed part of Sofar’s global concert series, with simultaneous shows staged in cities, including Lusaka, Johannesburg, Cape Town, London, Madrid, Copenhagen, Hamburg, New York City, Chicago and Seattle. — Staff Writer.
