Malawi’s acoustic icon Giddes Chalamanda’s childhood dream to perform in the USA has materialized as the veretan musician has landed in USA where he is scheduled to stage a number of live concerts.
Chalamanda’s USA trip, dubbed “Giddes Coming to America Tour” was being spearheaded by a group of vibrant and robust Malawians including media consultant MacDonald Chapalapata, artist Edgar ndi Davies, economist Wilkins Mijiga, marketer Emmanuel Maliro, E-wallet Manager Felix Njawala and lawyer John Gift Mwakhwawa.
According to the team, it has always been Gidde’s desire to perform in the USA and the 86 year-old legend shared his childhood dream to perform in the USA in one of his songs, ‘Buffalo Soldier’–“I had enough money I would to America”.
The song was recorded way back in the 60s.
Apart from performances, Giddes will also offer lectures to several colleges and conduct workshops on Malawi’s performance culture dubbed “Malawi Night”, and will also host a traditional 6 July Discussion Forum which an Association of Malawians living in the US conducts annually, where they will, among others, reflect where Malawian music has been, the history and the challenges artists face.
The initiative is mainly aimed at marketing and promoting Malawi music beyond the borders.
The crew will host gigs in Washington DC and Indiana, among other places in the USA.