The Nkhotakota Music Festival which is organised by Nkhotakota Youth Organisation (NYO) in partnership with Music Crossroads Malawi starts today and will run up to tomorrow.
Nkhotakota Cultural Centre Manager Anne Lene Østli said on Tuesday that all was set for the festival which will bring on board several acts.
Lilongwe-based Madalitso Band, which performed at the Sauti Za Busara Festival in Tanzania recently, will perform tomorrow alongside ‘Mdidi’ star Faith Mussa.
Lene Østli said apart from the performances, there will also be games and workshops.
The performances start today in the afternoon and some of the bands set to perform are Health Band, Daughters Band, Zebra Band and Happy Family.
And tomorrow, the festival will start in the morning with a Cultural Walk before getting down to performances that will feature, among others, Hear Us Children, Neil Nayar, Mbanaye, Happy Family, Faith Mussa and Madalitso Band.
Lene Østli said they were excited to have the festival once again. The festival started in 2014.
According to Lene Østli, it was Sille Lukowski, the manager at the cultural centre at the time, who wanted to do something new and exciting for the centre and for the youth.
It was then that she created the festival.
Østli said it has been a long journey for the festival, driven by passion for music and youth as well as wanting to create something great for the community.
“As a youth organisation, we want the festival to be a place where young people can gain confidence and skills within performing arts,” she said.
The manager also said that through the festival, they want to uncover raw talent amongst the youth and connect with the local community.
Østli said the festival wants to play a role in promoting arts and culture in the country and also at the same time, sell Nkhotakota to the world.
She said this year they will expand the festival by setting up a campsite at the cultural centre to accommodate more visitors.
The festival’s entry fee is K5000.
Nkhotakota Youth Organisation is a youth – run local NGO, established in 1997 and works to reduce unemployment by facilitating skills training and recreational activities among the youth.
Leave a Reply