Shutdown gig fever

Langalakhe Mabena

The stage is set for the annual Bulawayo Shutdown which is the major gig to close the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair (ZITF), as all the artistes on the line-up have confirmed their participation at the event which will take place at Queens Sports Club on 29 April.

The event is being organised by DTL Records and Harris Hotels.

South Africa’s Amapiano star Lady Du, real name Duduzile Ngwenya, multi-talented hitmaker Setoki Mbatha aka DJ Stokie, renowned Zimdancehall artiste Winky D will be the headlining acts at the crowd pulling event.

Popular Zimdancehall disc jockeys, DJ Fantan and Levels, Sandra Ndebele, fast-rising tribal house artiste Fab G MshanakaGogo and Zimdancehall chanters Jah Signal, Bazooker and Pumacol are also going to share the stage with the headlining acts.

DJ Mzoe, DJ Nospa, DJ Liz and DJ Eugy will be in charge of the turntables.

One of the organisers of the event Mdu Mdlongwa said: “Everything is on track and running smoothly as the countdown to the gig gets under way. We are happy with the preparations and it’s all systems go as all artistes on the line-up will be available.

“We are happy that all the artistes on the line-up will be providing entertainment for those who are attending the ZITF and locals who have been supporting us immensely on our gigs,” said Mdlongwa.

Lately, local gigs have been characterised with different crimes as thieves target the events to steal cellphones from the revellers as well as car breaking.

Mdlongwa said there would be heavy security to make sure that patrons, their gadgets and cars are safe.

“There is a lot going on in these shows and promoters are on each other’s necks, some even go to the extent of organising thieves to torment the revellers by stealing from them.

“We have heavy security this time around because we don’t want any loopholes. We will be having heavy guards, trained dogs as well as patrolling cars on the night so that we ensure maximum security for our clients.

“We urge people to come early so that they get secure and protected parking to discourage car breaking. Besides there are a lot of artistes who will be performing so coming early will mean that our revellers can have a chance to watch the entire show,” said Mdlongwa.