Flowers for King Kandoro’s Unplugged 3.0, proof that Zimbabwe can do big events without SA artists as headliners

TAKUDZWA HILLARY CHIWANZA & TAWANDA CHARI

For starters, we do sincerely hope that our headline here does not make people apoplectic. There is enough justification why we chose such wording. King Kandoro's third edition of Unplugged sold out First Capital Bank Sports Club on an all-local lineup and it's time somebody said so properly. We will circle back to this very important aspect later on in this piece.

Image Credit: Tino Nyandoro

On Saturday, 29 August 2026, at First Capital Bank Sports Club, Unplugged came back (the last edition had been in March) and by the time the night wrapped, King Kandoro and his team had answered a question the industry keeps sidestepping: can an all-local lineup actually sell out a show? The ground was packed to the brim. The tickets were gone. Flowers are owed, so here they are.

Unplugged has always been a blanket and wine affair before it's a concert — an environment built for people to arrive early, spread out, and just exist together. That's exactly what the opening stretch delivered, courtesy of mellow, R&B coded sets from DJ Pretty Gangster and DJ RSK. Nobody was dancing yet. Nobody needed to be.

The opening hours did seem to have hit a sluggish start, and we think this was by deliberate design, but the event found its footing quickly once Delight Hungwe stepped on the stage, with Reverb 7 taking over the decks after Hungwe’s performance. It is beyond any doubt that Reverb 7 is one of the best DJs in the country; and he played a full set of local music only, and it was exactly the reset the room needed. This seemed to have balanced out the earlier sets by Pretty Gangster and RSK that were laden with foreign RnB and hip hop.

But let’s talk about Delight Hungwe for a bit, this edition's Next Superstar pick. Stepping into his first-ever live performance, period, backed by a full band and. But Unplugged really is one of the more amiable places to debut. He gave a good impression of himself.

It's exactly why we're such fans of the Next Superstar initiative in the first place. it hands emerging artists a real band, a real crowd, and a crash course in what's actually expected of them on a stage this size, long before they'd otherwise get the chance.

If there was one standout individual performance on the day, it was hers. Tahle Wedzinza's vocals aren't up for debate. she's one of the best in the country, full stop.  and when Teleunga dropped, the ground was gyrating. She looked and sounded like she belonged on a stage that size. Credit where it's due to Events Evolution too: the stage and lighting they built was genuinely massive, and it gave a performance like hers the room to hit properly.

Kim Makumbe repaid the faith reposed in her by the event organisers. ZimSphere had Kim Makumbe on our list of the Top 10 Zimbabwean artists to watch in 2026, and this is exactly why. She walked out in a striking Soleil piece, commanded the stage on vocals and presence alone, and brought out Enhle for "Ndichakuda.", and Karville for "Undirote".  Consider that list justified. If this set is anything to go by, there should be more from her before September's out.

And Tanto Wavie is definitely back outside. The TrapSu founder - whom we affectionately refer to as 'Faunda' - has had the songs and the talent for a while now. That truism can never be up for debate. What he hasn't had, until recently, is stage time. And here we are talking of stage time at the country's foremost platforms. But that is changing real fast. Off the back of this immaculate Unplugged set, he heads straight into headlining Shoko Festival's Peace in the Hood on 26 September - two major festivals back-to-back.

That is what we have always wanted for Tanto. From the moment he stepped on the stage at Unplugged, opening with the fan favourite John Chibadura, it was evident that he was there to prove his special capabilities. And boy did he deliver. People needed to experience Tanto live, and now they have. There was absolutely nothing that could be faulted from his performance; the only real complaint was that his 20 minutes felt far too short.

Travellers Band came through with a hits-heavy set that worked perfectly as a palette cleanser after a run of heavier performances. 

Then Sylent Nqo came with his own band in tow - the one act on the bill not curated under Spirit Fingers -bringing an R&B-rock edge and pulling out the kid from the Sewe video for one of the standout moments of the entire night. We will say this with the highest degree of confidence: Sylent Nqo is formidable when he is on the stage. 

Armed with a guitar, his commanding vocals, and amazing backing vocalists, his performance reminded all and sundry why he is one of the best talents in the country right now. With the whole crowd in tremendous unison when Sewe was performed, the atmosphere felt surreal. It was one of the memorable highlights of the night, with Sylent soaring high like an eagle. 

Sylent Nqo approaches the art of making music and performing it with a degree of finesse not seen that often in this country. One particular song he performed that we are greatly fond of is Hungwe. Perfect song. 

Tamy Moyo graced the stage with an ethereal presence, delivering hit after hit. Her set was as energetic as one could ever wish for. You cannot talk of Zimbabwean music royalty and exclude Tamy (and yep, this is an ode to her album 'Royalty' too). 

When Tamy exited, the stage had been thoroughly prepped for what was the climactic moment of the night: Shona Prince and Takura, ladies and gentlemen. We have to give some props here to Unplugged from stressing the importance of having the two personas on stage - a wonderful concept that brilliantly played out much to the crowd's satisfaction. (The bifurcation of Shona Prince and Takura is a long story that does not warrant any exposition here.) Shona Prince started with some serenading tunes that were by all accounts soul-moving. That's the prowess of Shona Prince. And he confidently exhibits that on stage. Given that Shona Prince is a fairly new persona in terms of stage presence, it was very much refreshing seeing him do his thing on the stage, in perfect sync with the attendees. As if written in the skies. 

To make the transition between Shona Prince and Takura, Unplugged pulled a masterstroke by introducing hip-hop artist Suhn (yaay, another victory for Zim Hip Hop!) as an interlude of some sorts. For the few minutes he performed, Suhn mesmerised the crowd with so much conviction that you could not help but simply dance to his tune Turn It Up. Such was his mastery. What we love about Suhn is that is gradually becoming a force to reckon with. He is one of the hip-hop acts we would want to see enjoying and commanding the country's foremost stages. 

After Suhn's cameo, Takura then surfaced to the stage, shedding off the Shona Prince identity, settling into more familiar armoury. His luminosity was evidenced with the hits Zino Irema, Ngoro Yemoto, Haarore, Mhofu Yemukono, Mai Mwana, and plenty others. In terms of the vocal performances, Takura's set was a befitting end to what had been such an illustrious night of musical wonders.  

DJ RSK, Unplugged's resident DJ, put together one of the standout sets of the day in his own right when he played just as the evening had commenced. That was such a fire set. Spirit Fingers curated performances across nearly the entire bill and made it look effortless. Toni Friday then ultimately capped off the night with a splendid DJ set that marked the end of the indelible festivities.

Now, back to that issue we promised would be circled back to. King Kandoro and his team proved, definitively, that an all-local lineup can sell out a ground—even if the wider industry still needs more artists to lock in and build that kind of value consistently for it to be lucrative every time out. We have been waxing lyrical about all the performances of the day in this piece, and justifiably so. The point being that there is no need to have South African artists as headliners for big shows all the time (key emphasis here being 'all the time,' kindly take note of that). 

The success of 29 August dispenses with this need; a need that perennially afflicts us like a terminal disease. Except that we may not really realise that we are gripped by such an incurable disease. We just picked Unplugged because that is the focus of our scope, that is where we spent the whole day. But there were three other hugely successful events with an all-local lineup: Winky D's Tete a Tete, Bagga's album launch, and Cup Clash. Massive win for Zimbabwean music, without a doubt.

This is a topical issue. People love their South African acts (never mind the rather depressing fact that it's always the same artists from the same genre) but the argument we are making here is that we don't need SA artists as a matter of course; as an immutable reality. We need them to spice up things. Profit-making for event organisers here does not need to be helplessly hinged on SA artists. We surely need them, but simply as a matter of adding variety. And also, when we bring in SA artists, we should strive to not fall into the same pit of choosing the same artists over and over again. SA is a big economy, and there are plenty musicians there. We can always add some new flavour. 

(At the March edition, Unplugged brought SA artist Ami Faku, and honestly, that was such a refreshing pick.)

To get to the point where the need for SA artists to bring in huge crowds that turn a considerable profit gets dispensed with will not be an overnight process. But Unplugged showed us that it can be done. We have to believe in creating our own value. And the value-adding process that makes Zimbabwean audiences fork out money for Zimbabwean artists is already in motion. All we have to do is maintain the momentum. 

We spent a considerable time in this piece proving that the artists actually delivered impeccably. Why not believe in all-local lineups for our big events? 

So, is Unplugged the best show of 2026 so far? From the lineup and curation down to the execution, we're not hearing a strong counter-argument. Flowers, all-round, and see you in December!