“She just got hooked to our music immediately and wanted to help us become even more successful,” said Mpho, the younger Mambira. Hoffman invited Bongo Love back a few months later to surprise Aaron at his bar, Mitzvah. As luck would have it, on the day that they performed at Aaron’s party, the band was invited to perform at another concert in Acton a couple of weeks later. Chad Urmston, formerly of the popular folk act Dispatch, who disbanded in 2002, also performed at the Acton show. A social activist committed to improving the quality of life in Zimbabwe, Urmston was entranced by Bongo Love’s sound, and invited them to perform at his band’s reunion concert at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Originally scheduled to be a one-night concert to raise funds for charities benefitting Zimbabweans worldwide, two additional slots were added after the “Dispatch Zimbabwe” concert sold out during the first halfhour of an exclusive presale available only to fans on the band’s MySpace page. Two extra nights meant thousands more listeners were exposed to Bongo Love’s music, and the exposure has translated into a swell of fan support. Viewer reception to Bongo Love’s Madison Square Garden performances and their live videos available on YouTube helped increase the demand that led to their return engagement in the United States. “Everything happened so fast and unexpectedly. People got into our music. They were amazed because they had never heard African music like ours before. Everyone had a good time when we performed,” Mpho said. Bette Hoffman later introduced Bongo Love to Boston public relations specialist Colette Philips and after being carried away by the band’s sound, Philips invited them to perform at the “Get Konnected” networking cocktail reception she hosted for Boston’s professionals of colour. “They represent the bringing of multicultural people together,” Philips was quoted as saying prior to the show. As their American fan base expands
and their profile continues to rise, Mambira said they are enjoying the ride of portraying the country’s image against negative publicity, through their heartwarming music. “While the economic turmoil in our country rages on, we continue to portray the true image of Zimbabwe, sharing a message of love and hope through music”. They have just released their third album entitled Future Voices. The album is expected to make an impact in much the same way that their debut album Afrocoustics and their second album Rwendo (Journey) did. In 2012, they went to Canada to promote their album, Future Voices. The following is a list of performances over the last few years. The group has featured in a number of international events and their list of
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three sold-out shows in 2007 with Dispatch at Madison Square Gardens in New York City before their opening act for State Radio on their 2008 Take the Country Back tour. Bongo Love also performed at the 2008 Chimanimani Festival as well as the Manyika Music Festival in Mutare, also in 2008, where they shared the stage with Oliver Mtukudzi. That performance was to be followed by another high-profile performance alongside Chimurenga music guru Thomas Mapfumo in Eugene, Oregon. They were to return to the state of Oregon again in 2009 to share the stage with South Afric an group Ladysmith Black Mambazo at Davinci Days Festival held in Corvallis. In 2010, they returned to Africa for a performance at the Zanzibar Film Festival. In 2011, they performed with Dispatch again at the TD Gardens Arena in Boston before a performance at the Speak Zim Love USA tour that same year. They performed in several States on the east coast as well as Washington and Oregon again. The year 2011 also saw the group making appearances in the Solid Sound Music Festival hosted by WILCO in Massachussets and opening for Vieux Farka Toure in Boston. Their biggest performance this year was when they performed with the Cool Crooners in Botswana. TP
Music
prestigious acts include performing at the Spanish Cultural Centre in Equatorial Guinea, West Africa in 2006 and African Caribbean Pacific Festival (ACP Festival) in Dominican Republic, also in 2006. The group also played at February 2013 Page 15
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