Bahati Band
STRONG SISTERS
SPREAD THEIR MUSICAL MESSAGE Bahati Band are an all-women music group in Dar es Salaam breaking down the barriers of the music industry boys’ club. They play their own instruments, write songs that touch souls and are inspiring women to find their voices and pursue their music dreams.
Live act – Bahati Band on stage at Nafasi Arts Space in Dar es Salaam
A
s the only all-women music group to play their own instruments and write their own songs in Tanzania, Bahati Band are gamechangers. The six-piece band have been together barely a year, but with their joyous mix of afro-fusion, r&b and reggae they have already proved they should be taken as seriously as their male counterparts and have become a popular booking on the Dar es Salaam live music scene. Band members Dorice George, who plays bass, saxophonist Gloria Samson, pianist Alice Nyato, singers
Neema Mwasha and Merry Mshana, percussionist Britenia Richard, Mariam Namuyodi on drums and Nipael Mtana on keyboards were among the most impressive candidates who answered a call put out in January 2020 by Pili Maguzo, the founder of performance art theatre Bahati Art Group, for talented musicians to form an all-women musical group. The band continued the Bahati name, which means ‘luck’ in Swahili, and Mtana says the word seems apt as each musician feels blessed by their abilities and the reception the
band has enjoyed from the public. “We felt lucky that each one of us has a special talent in music,” she says. “From the first day we formed a bond and fell in love with each other. Society also accepted us and gave us a chance to show what we have. The love and invitations we have received so far has been amazing.” Nafasi Arts Space gave the band rehearsal space and its first live show in September when they were among the featured acts at the Dar creative hub’s showcase of visual and performing arts Wikiendi Live – Pamoja Tena. Bahati Band were a airtanzania.co.tz / 35
