Zimbabwean Music Icon Thomas Mapfumo to Bid Farewell to Live Performances
Zimbabwe’s legendary musician Thomas Mapfumo, affectionately known as “Mukanya,” is set to retire from live performances after a groundbreaking career spanning over five decades. A farewell concert is scheduled for August 23 at the New Bingley Hall in Birmingham, United Kingdom, marking the end of an era in Zimbabwean music.
Mapfumo, the pioneer of Chimurenga music, has been a powerful voice for social and political change, fusing traditional Shona rhythms with modern sounds to create a genre that became the soundtrack of Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle and post-independence era. His music gave voice to the oppressed and celebrated the cultural identity of the nation, earning him both admiration and controversy.
The Birmingham farewell concert is expected to feature a stellar lineup of top Zimbabwean artists, all coming together to honor one of the country’s greatest musical exports. Organizers say the event will be more than a concert – it will be a celebration of a lifetime dedicated to truth, resistance, and rhythm.
Mapfumo’s influence stretches far beyond Zimbabwe’s borders, with his lyrical defiance often critical of political and social injustice. He was exiled during Robert Mugabe’s rule, but it also cemented his status as a cultural hero among Zimbabweans both at home and in the diaspora.
Joining Mapfumo on stage will be his protégé, Kurai Makore, a rising star in the Chimurenga tradition and a direct musical descendant of Mukanya’s revolutionary sound. The show is being billed as both a send-off and a symbolic passing of the torch to Makore, who has long been seen as the natural heir to Mapfumo’s towering legacy.
