BY FREEMAN MAKOPA POPULAR Afro-jazz musician and heiress to the Tuku music legacy, Selmor Mtukudzi, has been roped into the stellar line-up of artistes scheduled to perform at The Virtual Music Imbizo 2020 Festival scheduled to run from August 26 to 29. The four-day festival is an international music business conference and exhibition.The conference brings various music stakeholders under one roof to map the way forward for the music industry in Africa. It is also used as a platform to exhibit, network, share expertise and knowledge. Selmor’s publicist Reginald Chapfunga told NewsDay Life & Style yesterday that performing at the festival would help them increase their fan base, adding that it would also provide an opportunity to meet music agents and push their brand globally. “This is a huge birthday present for Selmor and the band. It opens up avenues to perform at international festivals and also enlarge our fan base,” he said. “We are really excited about other opportunities presented by Imbizo like meeting music agents and distributors, profiling of Selmor on their websites and having our music reviewed on a number of stations and publications.” There will be over 50 speakers from 23 countries, 35 companies exhibiting, and more than 30 musicians including Selmor and fellow Zimbabwean musician Norman Masamba and Zim Hip-Hop Awards founder Aldrian Harrison, among the guests. Such festivals have helped a number of Zimbabwean groups including Mokoomba to break into the international circuit.Chapfunga, who promised a good show, disclosed that they applied for participation at the festival and their application was approved. “Just like any international festival or expo, artistes apply to be part of it. They then select the qualifying artistes that year, so Selmor was fortunate to be selected,” he said. The songstress, who is still basking in the glory of her new offering Dehwe Renzou, which has heralded her rebirth as she seeks to move away from her late father music superstar Oliver Mtukudzi’s shadow and reinforce her own brand as a musician, is confident she will reach greater heights.
