Reggae Roadblock is taking its monthly live music platform into a new setting on 30 August, teaming up with the British Council Gardens in a move organisers describe as part of a deliberate strategy to pull reggae music into spaces the genre does not typically reach.
The edition will also debut a fashion element, pairing designers with individual performing artists ahead of a ten-garment collection showcase, but coordinator Chido Musasiwa frames the broader goal as audience expansion rather than the fashion tie-in alone.
Musasiwa said Reggae Roadblock began in August last year as a rotating series of live reggae shows, built to bring established and emerging performers together for a monthly gathering centred on music and collaboration. Since then, the platform has deliberately sought out venues and partners outside the genre’s usual circuit.
“It is very easy to keep performing to your regular clientele, but when you are partnering with the likes of the British Council and Cafe Momos, like we did in July, it exposes you to another audience that you are not usually performing to,” she said.
She described the British Council partnership as a chance to place reggae in front of a crowd the movement rarely encounters.
“We are super excited about working with the British Council because it is opening up the reggae movement to a different context and sphere than what we usually have,” Musasiwa said.
The platform runs on ten resident artists, each maintaining separate bands and solo careers, who come together once a month under the Reggae Roadblock name. Organisers say the format lets each artist’s individual following merge into a single, growing reggae community rather than staying siloed within separate fan bases.
That same logic extends to genre-crossing bookings, with Musasiwa noting the platform has started inviting musicians from outside reggae to perform reggae sets, adding variety to lineups that already rotate a surprise guest at every edition.
The 30 August bill features Prime Minister, Fuzzy L, Buhle, Empress Helga, Junior Bantan, Mannex Motsi, Dino Mudondo, African Shumba and Jahs Word, with DJ Muffin on the decks.
Reggae Roadblock also operates beyond its monthly calendar, taking on private and corporate bookings that include club performances, birthday celebrations and corporate functions.
The show runs from 2pm to 6pm, with entry priced at five US dollars and tickets available at the gate from 1pm. Food will be sold on-site and a cash bar will operate throughout. Because the venue sits on British Council premises, attendees are required to bring valid identification.
Musasiwa is urging both longtime reggae followers and newcomers drawn in by the fashion element to attend.
“If you love reggae music, if you like live music, and if you like fashion, and if you like the fusion, then this is definitely the place for you to be,” she said.
Reggae Roadblock takes place on 30 August at the British Council Gardens in Harare, from 2pm to 6pm. Further details are available on 0787 908 574.
