Mlindo was paid for 30-minute gig

Organisers of the “Mlindo Big Tent Experience” have justified the South African musician’s brief performance saying that is what they paid for.

Mlindo the Vocalist, the artiste behind Amacala and Amablesser hits whose 16-track Emakhaya debut album went gold last year, was in Bulawayo this past Saturday where he staged his debut performance at BAC Leisure.

The show, that was the talk of town, was attended by hundreds, some who, however, felt short-changed by the artiste’s 30-minute (about six songs) performance.

But, one of the event organisers, Rethusaneng “Ree” Mabuka, in reference to those who felt shortchanged, said Mlindo did not have that much hits hence why they had agreed to have him perform for about 30 minutes.

“We didn’t rob people as we knew his (Mlindo) timing was 30 minutes. We didn’t think people would expect him to perform for more than an hour, playing whose songs,” questioned Ree.

“When we negotiate prices with artistes, we negotiate using their discography. In this case, Mlindo had one album so in our contract with him, he asked to perform for a short period and we agreed that he’d play for 30 minutes.

“He played for what he was hired for and actually left happy as the show was a huge success. People had fun.”

Knowing that Mlindo would perform for 30 minutes, Ree said they engaged dancehall powerhouse Judgment Yard to ensure show attendees would get value for their money.

“…that’s why we hired Judgement Yard to perform of which they also played for under an hour.”

Turning to security at the show where fans continuously pushed and shoved trying to make their way to the stage, Ree said: “We hired maximum security and put barricades like we normally do at shows, but people are difficult to control. Even police have failed in some situations.

“We found it challenging to control the crowd, but we eventually managed to as no one went on stage during Mlindo’s performance”.

Ree said this was actually the best show BAC Leisure has staged with more events in the pipeline. The Chronicle