While January is known to be a bit of a slow month. This past weekend, a musical surprise kept Book Café audiences on their feet and in musical bliss. Macy and THe REd are the latest new comers on the live music scene in Harare and are bringing an exciting twist to nightlife. The band formed just 2 years ago and is made up of diverse musicians who embrace their individualities and are dedicated to creating music across the various musical genres. The band headlined last year’s Rock Down Harare and in 2014 are now set to headline local hot spots around Harare like Misty’s and the Book Cafe. Their performance at Book Café showcased their versatility and ability to bolt classics with a fresh and groovy feel.
The band is made of the sultry Kenyan, Macy Hauber as the lead, the funky Sharon Ndlovu on vocals, the smooth Spencer Chakanyuka on guitar, the cool Winfred Munyoro on bass; on keyboard they have the slick Cornelius Muponda and finally, the energetic Joshua Penga on drums and finally sound guru Vusa Mojo. The band’s motto is “One planet, One vibe and One love” which lead singer, Macy points out, “Is about embracing diversity and sound as we are one regardless of where you are from”. This motto was evident in their variety and diversity of songs they performed including impressive covers and refreshing original tracks. The band are currently working on more original tracks that are set to be part of their first album due later in the year.
Audience members could not resist the infectious beats and found themselves on the dance floor enjoying the sweet jams. That guy, Fungai found himself having to putting his camera down just to enjoy the sounds and show off his dancing abilities ( which ended with him bouncing up and down like a teenager). Their cover to “Spectrum”, really made the crowd loosen up and work a sweat. What impressed audience members was Macy’s vocal ability, particularly her cover to a Whitney classic, ‘I Will Always Love You” which had a reggae twist. The crowd also enjoyed and swayed to their original track, ‘Nikafikira (I Think)’ which was sung in Macy’s mother tongue, Swahili. Overall the ambiance truly captured the band’s goal of uniting people by sound.
The night ended in true Zimbabwean style of requesting one more and we were quite lucky to get not just one or two more but three more. What a night and we look forward to seeing what more Macy and The REd have to offer in 2014. Do catch them at Misty’s on the 31st of January 2014. Be sure to watch this space for an exclusive with the band, until then…ONE PLANET, ONE VIBE and ONE LOVE