Fab Fusion and Ovation Band failed to light up the Coke Green stage at Harare International Festival of the Arts (HIFA) yesterday. The contemporary jazz band performed songs from their recently released five-track album titled Embrace.

Unfortunately for the artists, who hail from Bulawayo and Harare, their HIFA debut was a lukewarm affair that didn’t quite manage to pull the crowd from its seats.

After being introduced at 4pm by the  MC, Simba the Comic King, the band set about performing what was a well-choreographed act that was let down by a female vocalist whose confidence levels left a lot to be desired. Most of the crowd were focussed on their cell phones and conversations with each other.

Fab Fusion and Ovation Band is described as “a family affair”, being a combination of two bands – Fab Fusion (Harare-Based husband and wife Brennan and Faith Wyngard) and the Bulawayo-based Ovation Band that is fronted by Brennan’s father Nigel Wyngard.

Speaking to Harare News after their performance, the band’s lead vocalist Faith said that Fab and Ovation started performing together five months ago and held that she was grateful for the showcase at HIFA.

“It is really amazing as we never thought we could perform here. We want to go international and we are looking forward to doing collaborations with big international artists,” said Faith. Hopefully more stage time and exposure will bolster the bands’ stage presence.

This year’s festival is running under the theme ‘Articulate’ and running from 28 April to 3 May. The opening night on the ZOL Main Stage saw Mokoomba put on an electrifying performance that left the audience baying for more.