daniel chigunwe
IT’S a massive weekend and month for hip-hop artist Shone.
He is set to become the first Zimbabwean musician to play before a combined audience of more than half-a-million people, spread over five shows, in India.
He is part of the supporting act of British rock band Coldplay during their Music of the Spheres World Tour in India this month.
The mega shows, which are set to attract a combined audience of about 580 000, are set to get underway tomorrow at the D.Y. Patil Stadium in Mumbai with, at least, 100 000 fans expected to attend the event.
Another show is set for the same stadium on Sunday with a similar crowd also set to attend.
While the D.Y. Patil Stadium has a capacity of 60 000 people, musical contests are different as fans can also spill onto the pitch.
Then, the party will move to the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, which has an official capacity of 132,000, and is the largest cricket stadium in the world, on January 25 and 26.
At least 140 000 fans are expected to attend each of the shows in Ahmedabad.
It’s a massive leap for Shone.
It means he will surpass the Bhundu Boys who, in 1987, played before 80 000 fans at Wembley as part of the supporting act of American superstar Madonna.
Coldplay are considered the best musical group in the world today and tickets for their shows in Mumbai sold out in just 30 minutes last year.
For Shone to be part of this tour is MASSIVE.
It’s the biggest thing which has happened to a Zimbabwean artist since the Bhundu Boys shared the stage with Madonna at Wembley.
It’s what every artist on the continent can only dream about and we are happy that Shone has embraced the challenge very well and he is doing well during his slots.
If he wasn’t adding any value to the shows, it’s very clear that he would have been dropped from the supporting cast a long time ago.
He was part of the Coldplay tour in Australia and New Zealand last year and was with the rock stars in the United Arab Emirates.
We have given the story front page treatment because we believe that it is huge and Shone deserves it. Here is one of us, playing before more than half-a-million fans and sharing the stage with the biggest band in the world today and, for all of us at H-Metro, it’s something that deserves to be praised.
Shone’s story might not generate a lot of likes on social media because it is not a negative thing but that doesn’t mean that it’s not an important story.
It’s massive not only for Shone but for the entire musical industry in this country.
It’s their story because it tells us that the world is embracing the skills of our artists and it is seeing something very good.
Shone’s story should inspire other local artists that the sky’s the limit.
