It was not the anticipated audience so to say but those who managed to make it to Club XL along the Chikhwawa Road on Friday night will attest it was a night well spent with scintillating performances from Edgar ndi Davis and veteran Giddes Chalamanda.

The acoustic group of Edgar ndi Davis featuring Edgar Kachere and Davis Njobvu as key vocalists with backings from Chimwemwe Maloya and Fred Muphuwa and other members Noah Bulambo, Mada and Layison Njati popularly known as Anko Layi performed at the centre for the first time since it opened.

Edgar ndi Davis who are also renowned lawyers did not disappoint their fans and took the audience which only improved around past 10pm, on a journey of acoustic vibes and performed for more than three hours.

Unlike others, the organizers made sure the show kicked off at the scheduled time of 8pm with a performance from the band led by Anko Layi of the ‘Ndizakupasa Love Yabwino,’ fame and Maloya. 

Apart from music, Maloya was also a toast of the night with his jokes. He wowed the audience who demanded his presence on several occasions.

The sound during the concert which saw people paying K1,000 on the door was just perfect and the band took the audience down memory lane with hits like ‘Sinamakosa,’ ‘Mangelengele,’ and ‘Tsoka Liyenda.

After the performance came veteran Giddes still strong at the age of 79 singing ‘Azimayi A Malawi.’ He followed it up with songs like ‘Liny,’ the reggae song ‘Babie Comeback,’ which he played twice due to public demand.

He also dished songs like ‘Napolo,’ ‘Che Meli,’ and ‘Buffalo Soldier,’ which was originally done by Bob Marley.

Although he played the guitar while seated, he was lively dancing and he even engaged some women in the audience when he sang ‘Dzubwera Mochedwa,’ with Edgar ndi Davis. 

During their performance Edgar ndi Davis heaped praises on the veteran musician Giddes in the song ‘Tayenda Nawo A Giddes,’ recounting how far they have gone together and even played some of his songs.

“He is one of the best musicians we have, he is 79 years-old but still performs well. We need to support him,” said Njobvu motivating the audience to come forward and donate money to him.

Kachere said the country should not start appreciating Giddes when he is dead but rather show him love when he is still alive.

Edgar ndi Davis played several songs from their albums including ‘Wazelezeka,’ ‘Fanwell,’ ‘Chigaleta,’ ‘Zukhala Bwanji Kodi,’ ‘Njinga,’ and ‘Galuyu.’

The two lawyers apart from being lively in their performance also joked about the current fuel problems the country is facing leaving the audience in stitches.

Giddes, who bemoaned some festival organizers for exploiting musicians by not giving them their dues was excited with the support from people and said he will continue playing music as long as he lives.

“If I die I will not play music again but I am still alive and I would love to sing more. At 79 years I am still going strong and I would like to thank Edgar ndi Davis for their support,” said the veteran.

Edgar ndi Davis also conducted a dancing competition which saw some walking away with CDs of their album.

One fan Gerard Gondwe said the group alongside Giddes gave them maximum entertainment.

“This is what we want when we come to shows, the musicians were serious. The venue was also good though I think many people could not come because of these fuel problems. But all in all good acoustic vibes,” he said.