MINANZI MBIRA BAND Ethnic sounds of mbira, djembe and Shona-inspired songs THE BAND – ROOTS ... Sharing a love for ethnic instruments and a deep urge to create a new vibe of good African - inspired music, 2 highly talented musicians formed the Minanzi Mbira Band in 2014. A fusion of traditional Shona music from Zimbabwe with South African dance beats, Minanzi Mbira Band has a unique sound that unfailingly mesmerises diverse audiences! The band members are: DANMORE KUSAYA on mbira, lead vocals & percussion TENDAYI KUSAYA on bass, backing vocals & percussion LIBERTY MANGACHENA on drums, backing vocals & percussion OWEN NJANJI brand new support on keyboard THE BAND – ... and VISIONS “WE WANT TO PERFORM AND ENTERTAIN AS WELL AS CREATE A SUBSTANTIAL MARK OF ART WHICH IS DRIVEN BY OUR CORE TALENTS AND VALUES IN OUR ROLE AS MUSICIANS. WE WANT TO SHARE THE RICH HISTORY AND CULTURE BEHIND OUR MUSICAL STYLE WITH THE WORLD.” SWEET DREAMERS MARIMBA BAND PROJECT The Sweet Dreamers Marimba Band Project is a project where musically gifted students from township communities get the opportunity to learn to play the marimba and to play in a professionally trained and managed marimba band. The project was founded by Danmore Kusaya (SA) and Monika Stadelmann (CH) in January 2019. Teachers and coaches of the marimba bands are the members of the Minanzi Mbira Band. Besides practicing and performing with their band, Danmore, Tendayi, Liberty and Owen have a strong belief that playing music – African indigenous music in particular – will give South Africa’s youth not only creative musical activities after school but also the self-confidence and joy they need to healthily grow and develop. In May 2019 the Sweet Dreamers Marimba bands started to play their first concerts. Since then they have performed many concerts at different kinds of venues all around Mpumalanga, SA. It’s amazing what they have already achieved in this short period of time! They get offers to play shows not only from different Game Lodges in Kruger National Park but also from well-known Festivals in Mpumalanga. Their facebook fan community is growing with every day. – but they wouldn’t call themselves Sweet Dreamers, if they didn’t dare to dream about playing internationally in their near future.