‘Dollar deals’ and a bleak Christmas!

Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter
WITH promoters seemingly reticent to put together high-profile gigs this festive season and local bars reeling from the effect of cheap liquor imports, the city’s musicians may be the biggest casualties of the upcoming festive season, with few gigs seemingly pencilled for the usually busy period.
Following the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a stampede by promoters to invite international acts, as they sought to capitalise on the public’s desire to “break out” after the restrictions brought on by the pandemic.

Last year, for example, Bulawayo saw as many as three international gigs all pencilled in for one night, as promoters sought to make a killing from the hottest South African house and amapiano acts. While the gigs mostly featured high-profile acts from south of the Limpopo, they had a trickle-down effect, as they also featured a raft of local acts.
This year, however, the gigs seem to have dried up, with only a few foreign acts performing in Bulawayo during the year.

The trend seems set to continue in December, as only a few high-profile gigs are pencilled for the last month of the year.
In an interview with Sunday Life, veteran local promoter Joe Da OG said promoters were reluctant to put together extravagant events this year due to losses they suffered last year.
“This time around, promoters are less experimental. I remember last year or the year before that when there were three national events in one day. When that happened, the promoters behind those events got their hands burnt. This time around, fewer promoters are ready to put their money out there and see if there are any returns to come from that. People are a bit wary of putting their money into high-profile events just in case they get burnt,” he said.

Despite the apathy towards nightlife that has been seen this year, Joe said that he expected the city’s bars and pubs to record brisk business in the last fortnight of the year. However, he said he did not expect the upcoming festive season to be as lucrative.

“The economic situation has also not been encouraging and I think that is why we have seen fewer shows than we saw last year. However, we are at the end of the year now and we will get an influx of people from the diaspora. That usual two-week vibe that we usually have will kick in because even if they don’t have much, people spend whatever they have during the last fortnight of the year. Bar owners will get a bit of money because of the high volume of sales but I am not sure that will be consistent from the 1st of December right until the end of the year. I think it’s going to be a short-lived period this time around compared to previous years,” he said.

A local bar owner who spoke to Sunday Life, said their business had this year taken a hit from “dollar deals”, which had seen people prefer to drink from their cars instead of going to bars. Dollar deals have also taken the city by storm, with leisure centres such as the popular koSamuriwo in Luveve suburb selling beer for US$1, making it one of the cheapest tshisanyamas in town.

The city centre is also home to some joints that sell beer for a dollar, although most of these joints are operating illegally as they do not have liquor licences. This trend, the bar owner said, meant it was not financially feasible to invite local artistes to perform at nightspots.
“The year 2024 was tougher because people started questioning whether it was worth going to our bars for alcohol or even a plate of food because they can get these things for cheaper prices outside. This is perhaps why we were a bit reluctant to put our monies into activities that were felt are a bit risky,” he said.
The former manager at Pub Lagondola, Dalubuhle Sibanda said the dollar deal syndrome had taken a toll on the local entertainment scene.

“As for the pubs, I think they will be once again rocked by the prevalence of the dollar deals. We will continue to see the great trek down west to places like koSamuriwo, Chicken Corner, koMatsika. Those are the new top dogs in town and I think their pricing model will be appealing even in December. They charge on average 25 percent less than bars in the CBD and so I think we will continue to see people flocking to them. Recently even people from the eastern suburbs are drinking and partying in the townships because it just makes better economic sense during tough times. This year we will see a lot of penny-pinching from people but they will still want to have fun and forget the year they just had,” he said.

Despite this, Sibanda said he expected to see brisk businesses in nightspots around the city, as people sought to blow steam following a drought-stricken year in Zimbabwe.
“What we have noticed in the past is that the more quiet or depressed a year has been, the more the need for people to find a release. I think judging from the past, this is going to be the case again and we will see a lot of people seeking fun as a way to blow steam.

“Bars generally peak from the 20th and that’s around the time when the British and South African brigades come to town. I feel that it is going to be the same again and it is also during that period when we are going to see South African acts performing here. I don’t think there will be much on the table for local acts until we get to the Shutdown. Judging from what has happened with the Bulawayo Arts Awards, I don’t think there will be a lot of shows for them and we are going to see a lot of shows postponed because most marketing budgets have been shut for the year. I doubt see any local-dominated shows being a part of the calendar,” he said.