Musical concerts in Harari township (1950-1980)

This research discusses musical concerts in Harari Township (present day Mbare) from 1950 to 1980. The main focus of this research is on the audience. It begins with examining the growth of musical concerts by exploring factors behind the popularization and adaptation of concerts by an ‘urban middle class’. The problematization of the concept of ‘middle class’ is also discussed in this research as a way of creating an understanding of the people behind this phenomenon. The research also analyses characteristics of the concerts. It also examines the influence of colonial administration in the musical concerts and especially focuses on how the residents of Harari Township organized these concerts and who the main patrons were. It also examines the nature and manner of influence of colonial administration in the musical concerts as indicated by European desire to control music concerts as an aspect of African leisure. It concludes that music concerts in Harari Township became significant when they began to be used by the residents as platforms foraddressing social and political issues which affected their daily lives.