Writing Bristol Mum means sometimes receiving exciting invitations and opportunities that my children and I wouldn’t have had otherwise. One recent invitation was to see Zimbe! at Colston Hall in exchange for a review on Bristol Mum. Of course I accepted!

Zimbe! consisted of a unique combination of traditional African music, along with some jazz and traditional choir music too. It was performed by more than 300 Bristol primary school children, a jazz quintet and Bristol Choral Society.

There was a very excited atmosphere while the audience waited for Zimbe! to start. There were lots of families in the audience, obviously there to watch and listening their children perform. And because there were lots of kids in the audience too, it made for a very relaxed atmosphere too.

Zimbe! opened with choir music from Bristol Choral Society. While not normally a fan of choir music, I absolutely loved Zimbe’s choir music; it was just mesmerising, especially in a huge arena like Colston Hall.

The jazz quintet were fun and entertaining and my kids liked watching the musicians perform and enjoyed working out the interesting musical instruments.

The Bristol school children who performed in Zimbe! were just fantastic. Having that many children sing in-time and word-perfectly is no mean feat; credit to conductor Adrian Partington for this.

The children’s voices filled the Colston Hall beautifully and you couldn’t help but be swept away with the cheerful, funky African music. My little girl in particular loved the African songs and rocked away in her seat to the music.

The children and adults who performed were all dressed in bright colours, therefore capturing the attention of the audience visually as well as through sound.

My children and I enjoyed Zimbe!. It offered something a little different from the norm and I enjoyed watching my children’s reactions at being exposed to such a range of music in one performance.

All in all, Zimbe! was fantastic, fun and funky and put us all in a happy mood for the rest of the evening.