Urban Grooves legends reunite for inaugural festival in Harare

URBAN Grooves musicians will turn back the hands of time when they headline the inaugural Urban Grooves Festival, scheduled for September 5 at Jongwe Corner in Harare.

The festival will bring together some of the Urban Grooves artists who stamped their authority on Zimbabwe’s music scene at the turn of the millennium, offering music lovers a nostalgic trip down memory lane.

Nox Guni, the headline act and part of the organising team, said he was excited to be performing at the festival.

“Being part of the Urban Grooves Festival, I feel honoured because it is a big league of legends that made a big impact on the music industry,” said Nox in an interview with NewZimbabwe.com.

Urban Grooves was one of the genres that transformed Zimbabwe’s music industry, ushering in a generation of talent that included Nox, Roki, Maskiri, Xtra Large Plaxedes Wenyika and Pauline, among others.

Nox said the festival was important as it provided a platform for the revival and celebration of the genre.

The Urban Grooves Festival, which is being supported by Destiny Media, Rich and Famous and Ice n Roses, will be hosted by Merciless, and feature artists including Plaxedes Wenyika, Pauline, Roki and Xtra Large, among a host of others, backed by Shabach tha Band.

The Chillspot duo of Levels and Fantan, together with man of the moment Junior Spragga, will add another layer of excitement to the festival.

“Remember, Urban Grooves came in when there was nothing but sungura, so it was a new kind of direction that the music industry took. Being part of the festival to celebrate that is amazing, and I think this festival is important to this genre because we do not want it to die.

“If you understand music, you will know that music evolves. Right now we are looking at Urban Grooves, but it is a mixture of Afro beats and our Zimbabwean sound,” said Nox.

Tickets are pegged at US$10 for General, US$20 for VIP and US$50 for VVIP.

Tickets are available at www.tikiti.co.zw or via the Tikiti WhatsApp chatbot at +263 785 333 873, as well as at the gate.

Nox also revealed that he will release a new project in October, marking his first album since returning to Zimbabwe from South Africa.

“Besides the festival, people can expect an album from me. I am dropping an album in October. That is an album that is going to make a statement, and it is the first album that I am going to release in the country since 2008,” said Nox.