Harare: Harare’s nostalgia merchants are throwing themselves a birthday party, and everyone’s invited,provided you can still remember the words to that 1990s R&B chorus you haven’t heard in fifteen years.
R&B Dancehall Lovers, the monthly gathering that has turned “Old Is The New Vibe” from a catchy slogan into a legitimate entertainment brand, celebrates its first anniversary on Saturday, 31 October, with an expanded outdoor festival at Belgravia Sports Club. The event runs from midday to midnight,straight twelve hours of old-school R&B, dancehall, reggae and the kind of timeless classics that make grown adults abandon all dignity the moment the first synth chord drops.
For organiser Juice the Strongest DJ, the milestone is less about popping champagne and more about saying thank you to the crowd that turned a regular party into a fixture on Harare’s social calendar. “This is more than just another music event. It is our way of thanking everyone who has supported R&B Dancehall Lovers from the beginning,” he told 263Culture.
And what a beginning it has been. The concept started as a simple idea,to simply create a space where people could reconnect with the music they grew up on. Regular gatherings at Bakerloo gave way to moves into other venues, including Tiger’s Milk, before the brand took its first step beyond Harare with a Bulawayo edition in August. Juice describes the journey as “incredible, challenging and very rewarding”a polite way of saying that building a nostalgia-driven event in a market dominated by contemporary genres is not for the faint-hearted.
The anniversary edition is deliberately bigger than a standard monthly outing. Organisers are promising a larger stage, enhanced sound and lighting, a broader festival setup, food and beverage areas, and dedicated VIP experiences. The music remains the centrepiece, with DJ Juice, DJ Walle and DJ A.M. among the selectors. Juice is adamant that the day should be consumed as a continuous musical journey rather than a hit and run headline set. “We want people to come early, stay throughout the festival and enjoy the entire musical journey rather than arriving for just one act,” he said. A special grand finale is planned, though details remain under wraps because what is a birthday without at least one surprise?
The event arrives at a moment when nostalgia is no longer a guilty pleasure but a genuine commercial force. Audiences are increasingly gravitating toward experiences built around shared memories and classic catalogs rather than whatever is trending on a streaming playlist this week. R&B Dancehall Lovers has tapped into that demand with remarkable efficiency, drawing thousands of fans each month and earning a reputation as a must-attend gathering for lovers of 1990s and early 2000s R&B and dancehall.
But the anniversary is also a test. Growth brings pressure bigger crowds, higher expectations and the tricky balancing act of making a familiar experience feel special without alienating the regulars who built the brand. Juice is candid about the learning curve. “Every edition has taught us valuable lessons about production, customer experience, consistency and understanding our audience,” he said. The reward, he adds, is watching people sing along, dance together and enjoy themselves. “It reminds us why we started”.
So dear reader if you find yourself at Belgravia Sports Club on Saturday, surrounded by strangers who suddenly know every word to a song you had forgotten existed, do not fight it. Embrace the vintage. After all, as the slogan goes, old is the new vibe and after one year, R&B Dancehall Lovers has earned the right to say it loud…..
