Unforgettable African Dream Tour 2014
Only the title will be the best way to explain this wonderful tour. IT WAS UNFORGETTABLE and the memories will stay in our hearts forever and forever.The tour started with all 3 of us flying together from Italy in the same plane being the loudest and making the most noisy, waiting and looking forward to the African tour. We landed in Zimbabwe doing a great rehersal with our African bass player Mr Ronald Mhundwa who was joining us for the tour for the first time to play with us and travel with us. The man did not disappoint us in the rehersals but gave us even more hope for the tour.
Our first African show was at the Magis Africa Concert. We are grateful for Magis Zim who were our sponsor for the african tour. Magis is a gathering of young Catholics who come to one country every year from all parts of the world to share their experiences and also share that county's experience and this year Zimbabwe hosted. We were blessed to have been chosen to be the main act of that festival.
We went on to be on the bus to Zambia which had many adventures of us sleeping on the boarder post between Zim and Zambia having to wait for the opening the next morning. The sleep on the boarder was very memorable for Max Covini(drummer) who kept on saying he could see elephants coming towards the bus. This already got 4 of us excited of what more was in store for us in this tour. We Arrived in Zambia and settled well and received with joy by friends and fans from Zambia. We can not forget to mention the amazing press conference we had with the media house of Zambia, this was great. Zambia has some of the most supportive media house and we would like to extend our thank you to them. 29 August 2014 marked our first Zambian concert as we played at Barefeet festival. The festival had upto 2000+ attendance at the Lusaka civic grounds. We went on stage at 10pm power packed after a wonderful set by Zambians best Pompi. We delivered our very best and the Zambian crowd loved every step of the show, they sang along to songs they knew and even those we taught them onstage. We saw amazing dance moves in the crowd and we also displayed well polished dance moves. There is no question that this concert got us more Zambian people following Zimboita and this will always be the best thing about Zambia. Our Song "Joy in my heart" took the best song of the night as the whole crowd sang along and fell into that love mood as the song says. After delivering such a performance we were asked to play at the closing party of the festival staff and we did justice again and delivered a great show. 4 days in Zambia felt like a day as we enjoyed everything about Zambia especially the wonderful welcoming people.
We went on to South Africa heading to Capetown for some 6 shows. All the shows were a great success and the highlight of Capetown was the huge support we got from the Zimbabwean community that stays there. Zimbabweans came out in their numbers and told more people about Zimboita. From the wonderful beach and views of capetown we took the shortest road trip of the tour going to Botswana.
We arrived in Botswana(Gaborone) with great expectation and looking forward to our 1st appearance in Botswana. We were confident but also with fear of the unknown. As we walked into our hotel rooms the peace, privacy and excellence of the hotel made us even feel more at home in Botswana and relax and be ready for the show. 4pm after sound check at Botswana craft we did not know what to expect, we did not know if a crowd was coming even advance ticket sales were not looking too good but we kept the faith and the drive. A lovely local jazz band made up of 4 young Botswana musicians opened the night with some jazz and warmed up the people for the Zimboita set. By 9pm the place was 50% full and by the time we went on stage 10pm the place was full of people. We were so thankful that people responded even to a band that they don't know. This gave us serious drive and the willingness to deliever a worldclass show. Zimboita did just that living the Botswana people asking for more. The theme song called MARUVA ENYIKA(flowers of the world) was the sing along song of the night as we translated part of the song to sing in Tswana. The girls could not resist the scream as Matteo(Keyboard player) sang in Sitswana for the first time and also showcased his dance moves. The traditinal song Mawere Kongonya from Zimbabwe got all the Zimbabweans coming to dance in front as they sang along and thought of their home country Zimbabwe. Ronald did not waste that opportunity and made sure he did justice on that bass and his african dance moves. Blessing got the ladies in tears as he sang his heart with his crispy voice.
The final stop of the tour was again a new country for Zimboita and this was at the beach side in Zanzibar Tanzania. Max was in tears as he arrived at the hotel which was right by the beach. He could not believe that he was right close to the Indian ocean and he could swim in it. This was the best stop for Max as he is a serious beach fan. Nevertheless the festival in Zanzibar was called Beachsports and Music festival therefore we had to play some sports first before playing the music. So as Zimboita we decided to be a football team and to play against a local hotel team. This was very fun even though we lost to a score line we shall not dispose. The greatest thing about this match was that we were brave enough to challenge a normal soccer team to play against us musicians who only know how to be on stage and not in the soccer field. This also was a great way to unite our hearts, be in the spirit of the festival, just relax and do something different from the normal.
The same night we then headlined the festival sharing stage with wonderful musicians from all over the world like Jacob Bain from USA, Sona Jobert from Gambia and local Tanzanian artists. We shared our music and the audience received and danced the night away on the beach. We spent last 3 days just as holiday time and relaxing and reflecting on the tour and planning for the future.
For us we learnt so many things, we are overwhelmed with the support we got around the world and we are happy we shared our music to the people. We are now very positive that Zimboita is a celebration of peace, joy and happiness and so many people need this across the world.
2015 we are coming strong and we are ready to take over the world.
Watch out for our 1st Album coming out by April 2015.
