Seattle Artists and an Australian Didgeridoo!

The best part about Zimbabwe's Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA!)? 

Seeing all the different types of artists!

I had the chance to see Jacob Bain, Chris Williams, and Caleb Cunningham perform.

Here's a peek at their sound:

Jacob Bain...does he look familiar? He should--this is his third visit to HIFA.

He and Caleb Cunningham are from Seattle's Publish the Quest which performed the two previous years.

In a great testament to the many talented artists at HIFA, the three had only met the week before HIFA.
Here's something they come up with for the show:

Australia's Chris Williams.

He plays the didgeridoo and the trumpet. What on earth is the didgeridoo you ask? I confess, I had no idea.

Here's what it sounds like---it was really awesome:

This little old lady was the best fan of all time. The cutest dancer EVER. I want to be 85 and rocking out like her.

Don't believe me? Here's a sneak peek at her mad skills---she literally danced all over the place. So stinking cute.

Caleb Cunningham.

For some reason this shot of Jacob Bain made me laugh for its distortion.

Here's a more respectable shot of him!

For more information on Jacob Bain & Caleb Cunningham's Publish the Quest.

For more information on Chris Williams.

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A Tuku Finale!!

Zimbabwe's celebrated Oliver Mtukudzi performs for the finale of the 2012 Harare International Festival of the Arts in Zimbabwe.

Tuku, as he's affectionately known in Zimbabwe, is a born performer.

Check out his sound:

Edith Weutonga made a guest performance!

It's safe to say basically everyone in the audience--jammed so full I wondered if everyone could breath--knew all the songs.e

Senegal's Ismaël Lô joined him on stage for an awesome rock out.

Check them out:

For some reason, the Ipad filming of the concerts cracked me up...until I couldn't see Tuku!

That's when I appreciated the traditional phone capturing the moment!

Proof that literally everyone knows every word of his songs here:

Remember these guys?  Publish the Quest also rocked out with Tuku!

So naturally I had to capture their horns:

For more information on Oliver Mtukudzi.

For more information on Ismael Lo.

For more information on Publish the Quest.

For more information on Edith Weutonga.

For more information on HIFA.

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Zimbabwe's Edith Weutonga

Zimbabwe's Edith Weutonga performs at the  2012 Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) in Zimbabwe.

Remember her?  She made a guest appearance with Publish the Quest and the Emerald 7.

Check out her sound:

Zimbabwe hip hop artists Stunner and Ba Shupi joined her on stage.

Listen for some Zimbabwe hip hop:

In case you were curious, that's the Zimbabwe flag he's rocking out.

Where's Waldo---Publish the Quest style!

Edith Weutonga performs with her seven piece band, Utonga.

For more information on Edith Weutonga.

For more information on HIFA.

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Publish the Quest

Seattle, Washington, United States's Publish the Quest performs at the 2012 Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) in Zimbabwe.

This guy was awesome.  We stopped counting the amount of instruments he played during the show somewhere around four or five.

Check out how they sound:

The keyboardist also played in the horn section, in case you remember the horns' appearance with Cape Verde's Maria de Barros.

This video is a little blurry, but it gives you a better feel for their horns' sound 

(which in case you couldn't tell, I love bands who can rock a horns section....!):

Zimbabwe's Edith Weutonga and the Emerald 7 joined Publish the Quest on stage.  It was awesome.  Check out how they sound:

For more information on Publish the Quest.

For more information on Edith Weutonga.

For more information on HIFA.

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The Amazing Maria de Barros

The amazing Maria de Barros.

The Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) in Zimbabwe.

The singer, who comes from Cape Verde, was awesome!  Lucky to see her twice at HIFA.

Her Godmother is the Cape Verdean legend, Cesária Évora, who was known as the Barefoot Diva.

Her music had a wonderful island feel to it, making me miss the coast of Senegal:

Some of Seattle, Washington, U.S.'s Publish the Quest joined her on stage.

Check out how awesome they sound together:

The horns added a fantastic Latin feel to the music.

For more information on Maria de Barros.

I officially heart HIFA.

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