We are here to stay–Makasu Band

Makasu Band, which has made a comeback, says it is ready to be offering what bass guitarist Peter Likhomo described as “sweet live performances”.

Likhomo said this yesterday upon their fruitful outing in Lilongwe, where, he indicated, people enjoyed their performance.

“We are back and here to stay. We know young people have taken over with other genres but we will remain intact. We will continue playing music that put us in the limelight during the time of Bright Livewire Nkhata.

“We have been silent but feel that it was a blessing in disguise because it gave us a chance to regroup and map the way forward. Now we have a team that has both old and young members,” Likhomo said.

Makasu Band performed at Aero Lounge in Lilongwe on Sunday night, when they shared the stage with Six Solid Band.

Likhomo said during the gig, after performing some of Makasu’s songs such as ‘Masese’, ‘Reggae Magic’, ‘Napolo’ and ‘Sikunala,’ they also dished out songs by other artists, particularly Soldier Lucius Banda and Mtebeti Wambali Mkandawire.

“Lucius Banda’s legacy will live on; he did so much for the music industry and we thought we should remember him by playing ‘Nthawi’ and ‘Zakukhosi’. We also remembered Mtebeti Wambali Mkandawire by playing ‘Nkhujipereka’,” he said.

Likhomo said the positive response they received at Aero Lounge had motivated them to keep on holding live performances, resources permitting.

He said they were looking forward to performing in the Northern Region.

“There is still love for live performances out there; we had members of the older generation and those of the young generation in attendance. There was a time, in the past, when we had so many resident bands holding live performances but that is not the case now. We want to bring those times back,” he said.

Likhomo, who hailed Mr Entertainer Jai Banda for providing support, also said they were looking forward to releasing a new album titled Unstoppable.

Apart from the bass guitarist, Makasu has veteran players such as lead guitarist Collen Ali and trumpeter Wallace Ngoma as well as young members such as lead vocalist Kenzo B.

Mr Entertainer said the support that Makasu got in Lilongwe bore fruit as the band showed that it was on a serious mission.