Absolute beginners turned into rock ’n roll stars
it all happened on June 5th at The Drum (Masaki) when an amazing group of 17 ‘wannabe singers’ concluded their journey towards making their dream come true, with a huge benefit to an association that builds schools and empowers Tanzanian children through their schooling: Born to Learn.
The concert was instrumented by Tanzanian quartet ‘MoPao’, a band whose original style and influences are leaning more towards jazz and blues. The musicians were challenged to take over the hefty task of accompanying the future rockers in their quest to become one-night stars.
The idea originated sometimes in February, from a friendly gathering in South Beach: why can’t non-professional, ‘in-the-shower’ trained singers become rock stars for a day?
One of the friends took the lead to booking the venue, scouting for a daring band that would accept such a stunt and contact the Association Born to Learn to cement the event and give it a raison d’être. The sponsor of the night was herbal liqueur: Jagermeister.
From this point of no-return, an intensive program of after-hours rehearsals began in a private studio of Dar es Salaam. Thanks to their musical skills and a good dose of open mindedness, MoPao were able to swing their style to accommodate for faster, harder, crazier rock sounds.
When, after a few weeks, the Dar es Salaam community towards attending such an event became a reality, our amateur singers had no other choice but to seek professional voice counseling in the person of Tony Joett. Tony is an acclaimed voice coach who has worked with Tanzanian artists such as Vanessa Mdee, Mimi Mars, Ben Pol, etc… and was willing to also take on the challenge of bringing light into these quivering voices.
The concert was amazing with fans flocking to The Drum to see this improbable demonstration of courage and generosity.
As initially planned, this bucket-list idea became a reality for the 20 overnight-created artists and their efforts were finally rewarded. Now they are back to their day job with an incredible sense of achievement and bonding.
If you have missed the event and would still like to donate to Born to Learn, please find the details below:
Born to Learn
Donations by e-pesa: +255 627 500 884
Ms. Samantha Penalver
Donation reference: Rock in Dar
