Wazumbians back on tour in US
It was a delightful period of spreading their sparkling Africa-inspired rhythms across various locations in the United States between July and September last year and the Wazumbians are back there on another tour.
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They left Accra at the end of March and have already featured at the Treefort Music Festival in Idaho. The group’s leader, Francis Chapman Abban-Hagan, better known as Wazumbi, told The Mirror in a telephone chat that they were well-received in Idaho, United States of America.
“I think it is great and exciting to be back in the U.S. Our first gig went well and we are looking forward to playing about 20 more before returning to Accra.
“Some of the places we played at in New York, Philadelphia, Virginia and North Carolina have asked us to come back this year and we have been introduced to more festivals. We are expecting some enjoyable moments in the next couple of months,” Wazumbi said.
The band won an award at the sixth Annual African World Peace Festival (AWPF) at Fayetteville, North Carolina last year and are hopeful more laurels will come their way this year.
At the award presentation ceremony last year, the AWPF organisers, led by Dr Isabella Effon with support from the Mayor of North Carolina, Mitch Colvin, honoured the Wazumbians for the well-crafted African rhythms they dished out and the buzz they created in Fayetteville and North Carolina in general during the three-day AWPF festival.
The group thanked the Afromondo Music Promotions company for the faith placed in them to arrange another tour for the band. They indicated that there are many good groups in Ghana and across Africa so they were overwhelmed that Afromondo decided to stick with them for another round of gigs in the US.
The Wazumbians hope to release a new album on their return. They say all the tracks will be recorded live during the current tour.
“We are at our best live on stage. That’s why we want to capture some of the energy in our playing on the new album,” the group’s leader said.