The Daughters band from Lilongwe, Malawi, the warm heart of Africa, is an all-female band that plays afro-soul music fused with rock, pop and traditional music. The band was inspired and initiated by Music Crossroads Malawi as a way of creating female role models to empower young people and to highlight the importance of female participation in the music and cultural industry in Malawi.
Women in music, usually take the roles of dancers and backing vocals, and rarely take leading roles in performances. The band’s very existence disproves this common stereotype that girls cannot play instruments or take leading roles in music performances. The band plays both their own original songs as well as cover songs.
Since their launch, the band has showcased their performance at different public events, including the City of Stars festival, Women’s History month, Blantyre Arts Festival, Sand Music Festival, Tumaini Festival, UN Women function, as well as at local events hosted by the Norwegian Embassy. In June 2014, the band went to Norway for two weeks; one week to participate in the Norwegian Youth Festivals of Art (Ungdommens Kulturmønstring – UKM) and one week to participate in JM Norway’s LOUD camp, all with generous sponsorship by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Lilongwe, Malawi.
As the first all-female band in Malawi, The Daughters Band has a long way ahead of them, setting the standards and serving as inspiration for other young girls interested in pursuing careers in Music in Malawi. They have, and will continue, to challenge the society’s stereotypes about girls in music. They have big plans to develop their music, record albums and attract as many girls as they can and encourage them to be independent in music, and to alway dream bigger. The Daughters Band is more than just a concept.
