Téada: An Ode to Ireland

Ireland came to the Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) in Zimbabwe this year!!!

Traditional Irish music group Téada rocked out!

(I mean, come on! They made flute playing look awesome...
I say that and I once won an award for playing the flute.*)

Check out how wonderful they sound:

(They brought two pairs of traditional dancers!)

Two of the dancers.

Apparently he just won accordion player of the year in Ireland!

This made me laugh. Oh, how I love the Irish.

A traditional broom dance was performed.

What is that you ask? Here's some of it, the footwork at the end is impressive:

Oh, Ireland, you make dancing with a broom look awesome.

Well done, Téada, well done.

I confess, the concert was amazing.
 It reminded me that it has been far too long since I've visited Ireland.

One more video:

Another excellent show at HIFA!!

For more information on Téada!

*okay, I admit: the award was a band award in middle school, but that counts for something doesn't it?
 Like I should know a mean flute player when I see him, right? Right?

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Dutch Jazz...and a Didgeridoo Guest Appearance!

While at HIFA, I saw Holland's Mike del Ferro perform on the piano!

Does this guy look familiar? He should! Blessing was one of the best parts of HIFA 2012...

He always seemed to be having so much fun performing at HIFA.

The trio was wonderful, playing a range of jazz. It was beautiful.

Here they are playing a Duke Ellington piece:

In a surprise, Chris Williams joined the trio!

Chris Williams on the didgeridoo.

Here's what they sounded like:

A parting shot of the lovely Blessing!

For more information on Mike del Ferro.

For more information on the Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA).

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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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HIFA 2013: A Dutch Reformed Church and a Dutch Piano Duo

In all the HIFA excitement, we took a break and visited Harare's Dutch Reformed Church

to listen to the Dutch piano duo of Lestari Scholtes and Gwylim Janssens perform.

And holy moly!  Were they impressive.

The church was a stunning setting for the concert

and I knew the 2013 Harare International Festival of the Arts was off to a great start.

Seriously, how big is this organ?  Stunning.

I wasn't able to capture them in their wonderfulness, but here, take a look at someone else's video and be stunned:

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HIFA 2013: It's Finally Here!!!!!

It's here, it's here!  Get excited!

HIFA (Harare International Festival of the Arts) is the best time of year in Zimbabwe--

Harare comes alive and the arts are amazing!

Here's a teaser: Zimbabwean singer Prudence performing at the 7 Arts Theater in Harare.

This woman was heavily pregnant and rocked out.

Oh, HIFA 2013, you're going to be a good one!

For more information on HIFA.

For more information on Prudence Katomeni Mbofana.

Have a listen to her amazing voice here.

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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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