A NEW date for Rooftop’s Wene music awards is yet to be released following the death of the event’s adjudicator’s board chairperson, Paul Brickhill last month.
Brickhill died on October 3 2014 before the Wene awards were moved to a later date.
They had been scheduled for October 29 2014, but also failed to take off as the date clashed with the Zimbabwe Music Awards (ZIMA), forcing organisers to move them to a later date.
“We are moving our ceremony to a date yet to be announced having given the ZIMA music awards winners time to celebrate their awards with their fans in various parts of the country,” said Rooftop through a statement.
Rooftop spokesperson, Robert Tapfumaneyi told Patriot Arts that the board was yet to meet to come up with a new date for the Wene music awards.
“The board is still to meet for a new date and this has been delayed by the death of our adjudicator’s board chairperson, Paul Brickhill,” he said.
Tapfumaneyi said that members of the adjudications committee are also yet to meet for selection of a new chairperson.
The selection of the new chairperson, said Tapfumaneyi, will therefore enable the committee to set the date for the awards.
In terms of preparedness, Tapfumaneyi said Rooftop was ready the moment they announced the initial dates of the awards.
“I guess you are aware that we changed our dates when ZIMA moved their dates and we announced our original date on March 6 2014 so we had at least five to six months to prepare for this occasion,” he said.
Since 2007, it was until earlier this year when Rooftop promotions which was part and parcel of ZIMA came back with Wene music awards
Rooftop announced that through Wene, the organisers and panel of adjudicators will celebrate Zimbabwean music through an award ceremony that will cater for four major awards.
The four types of awards include recorded music, live music, lifetime achievement and various services to the music industry.
It is through those awards that Wene awards will consider categories such as outstanding musical act, traditional music exponent, and Zimbabwean act in internationally influenced music genres, best recorded album, recorded song, and people’s choice among others.
To break new ground in the local music industry, Rooftop unveiled a panel of arts experts as adjudicators of the awards.
They include the founding trustee of the Zimbabwe International Film Festival Trust (ZIFFT) Nigel Munyati, Albert Nyathi a poet, actor and musician, Joyce Jenje-Makwenda and music analyst, former Oliver Mtukudzi’s manager Debbie Metcalfe and arts guru, Freddie Zindi.