THOMAS MUZIYIRWA
Zimbabwe’s music ambassadors, Mokoomba, an afro-fusion band from Victoria Falls, is on a month-long tour of the USA. The band is scheduled to perform more than ten shows across the USA in different states, which include Miami, Los Angeles, New York, and many more. “We worked on a new album that we launched last year, and this is the first time for us to support the new album in the USA with our performance featuring a good number of tracks from the new album titled Tusona: Tracings in the Sand,” said Marcus Gora, the band manager. “We last went to the USA to perform in 2019, and we should have gone back in 2020, but that tour was canceled since there were many restrictions due to the COVID pandemic, and we lost or postponed many of the confirmed shows,” he also said.
The tour is also supported by The Center for Cultural Vibrancy, a USA-based nonprofit organization that supports and celebrates traditional artists such as musicians, craftspeople, dancers, and more to promote cultural exchange and education worldwide.
Mokoomba has become the most sought-after international touring music band in Zimbabwe. Ever since the release of Rising Tide, which was their first album, Mokoomba has toured Europe, North America, South America, Australia, and New Zealand, performing in over 40 countries. Almost every year, the band always have shows lined up for them to perform at the world’s biggest festivals and venues, such as Sziget, Roskilde, North Sea Jazz, New York’s Apollo Theater, New Orleans Jazz, and many more. The band has also played a huge role in promoting Zimbabwe as a tourist destination. In most of their interviews during their international expeditions, they always market the country.
Mokoomba fuses the traditional sounds of Zimbabwe with soukous, funk, reggae, rock, and Afrobeat. With their unique sound, they have won a lot of awards locally and internationally, including Songlines: Best Newcomer 2013, Songlines Music Best Group 2018, Songlines: Top of The World Album 2017, Arts Personality Award Winner (NAMA) 2019, Afro Pop Award Winner 2018, and many more.