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W.I.T.C.H.

Aug 11, Friday - 6pm
Sobrato Organization Main Stage

W.I.T.C.H., aka We Intend To Cause Havoc, was the biggest rock band in Zambia in the 1970s, spearheading a new genre dubbed “Zamrock” that fused influences ranging from the Rolling Stones to Black Sabbath and James Brown, mixing them with traditional African rhythms and bush village songs.

At the peak of its popularity, the band often needed police to keep fans at bay while their lead singer Jagari, whose name is an Africanisation of Mick Jagger’s, riled up crowds by stage diving from balconies and dancing manically as W.I.T.C.H.’s blend of psychedelic rock and African rhythms permeated the surrounding atmosphere.

Largely unknown outside of their home country, the band finally got the exposure it deserved when Now Again Records reissued their entire discography in 2012, allowing a new generation of fans to discover its work. In 2016 Jagari, the charismatic sole surviving original member of the band, began a collaboration with Dutch musicians Jacco Gardner and Nic Mauskoviç and embarked on an extremely successful first European Tour. In 2019, W.I.T.C.H. embarked on their first North American tour, and the band’s rebirth was chronicled in a documentary film by director Gio Arlotta which was nominated for top awards at Dokfest Munchen and the film festivals of Leeds, Rotterdam and Warsaw.

At the peak of its popularity, the band often needed police to keep fans at bay while their lead singer Jagari, whose name is an Africanisation of Mick Jagger’s, riled up crowds by stage diving from balconies and dancing manically as W.I.T.C.H.’s blend of psychedelic rock and African rhythms permeated the surrounding atmosphere.

Largely unknown outside of their home country, the band finally got the exposure it deserved when Now Again Records reissued their entire discography in 2012, allowing a new generation of fans to discover its work. In 2016 Jagari, the charismatic sole surviving original member of the band, began a collaboration with Dutch musicians Jacco Gardner and Nic Mauskoviç and embarked on an extremely successful first European Tour. In 2019, W.I.T.C.H. embarked on their first North American tour, and the band’s rebirth was chronicled in a documentary film by director Gio Arlotta which was nominated for top awards at Dokfest Munchen and the film festivals of Leeds, Rotterdam and Warsaw.


Special Thanks

Photo by Ian Enger