Zambia’s legendary Zamrock band W.I.T.C.H., short for We Intend To Cause Havoc, is taking its distinctive sound to audiences across the United States with an ambitious 32-date tour. The group is set to begin the American tour on August 15 in Colorado, opening another international chapter in the remarkable story of one of Zambia’s most influential rock bands. Led by founding frontman Emmanuel “Jagari” Chanda, WITCH has spent decades building a musical legacy that continues to attract listeners far beyond Zambia. The band’s sound combines psychedelic rock, funk, garage rock and African rhythms, creating a style that helped define the Zamrock movement during the 1970s. The upcoming tour gives American audiences another opportunity to experience that sound directly from musicians carrying one of Zambia’s most important musical traditions into a new generation.
Before leaving Zambia for the United States, Jagari Chanda and lead guitarist Jones Kabanga visited the U.S. Embassy, where they met Chargé d’Affaires Mich Coker. The meeting provided a meaningful moment ahead of the band’s extensive American schedule and offered an opportunity to recognise WITCH’s contribution to Zambian music and international cultural exchange. During the visit, Chanda and Kabanga presented Coker with copies of two of the band’s iconic albums, Lazy Bones and Zango. The gesture connected the band’s historic recordings with its current musical chapter and highlighted the depth of WITCH’s catalogue. Lazy Bones, originally released in 1975, is widely regarded as one of the band’s defining works, while Zango represents its remarkable return to recording new material decades after the group’s original era.
WITCH’s journey to the United States carries particular significance because the band emerged during the golden era of Zamrock in the 1970s. Zambia’s growing local music scene encouraged musicians to develop sounds that reflected their own experiences while drawing influence from international rock and soul music. WITCH became one of the leading groups within that movement, combining fuzz guitar, psychedelic textures and driving rock rhythms with African musical influences. The band developed a distinctive identity rather than simply reproducing Western rock styles, helping establish Zamrock as a recognisable musical movement. The Guardian has previously described WITCH as one of Zambia’s pioneering psychedelic rock groups and noted the band’s role in creating what Jagari Chanda called “the Zambian rock” sound.
Jagari Chanda remains central to WITCH’s story and its continued international appeal. The singer helped establish the band’s identity during its original run and became known for his energetic stage presence and distinctive vocal style. WITCH’s original members created a catalogue that included several influential albums, with Lazy Bones!! becoming particularly important to the band’s reputation among Zamrock collectors and psychedelic rock listeners. The group’s original music later reached a much wider international audience after reissues brought its recordings back into circulation. This renewed interest eventually helped lead to WITCH’s reunion and international performances, allowing Chanda to return to stages outside Zambia decades after the band’s original period of success.
The band’s catalogue also shows how its sound developed over time. Lazy Bones!! remains one of the most recognised WITCH recordings and features the fuzz guitar, hard rock energy and funk rhythms that have become closely associated with the band’s classic sound. More recent work has demonstrated that the group is not simply relying on nostalgia for its reputation. Zango, released in 2023, marked WITCH’s return with new material and connected the band’s historic approach to contemporary music. The band also released Sogolo in 2025, further demonstrating that its revival has developed into an ongoing musical chapter rather than a short-lived reunion. Current streaming and music platforms continue to introduce WITCH’s recordings to new listeners, with songs such as “Lazy Bones”, “Strange Dream” and “Chifundo” reaching audiences around the world.
The 32-date American tour also reflects how far Zamrock has travelled since its origins in Zambia. For many years, much of the music produced during the Zamrock era remained relatively difficult to find outside Southern Africa. Reissues and renewed international interest changed that situation, bringing WITCH and other Zambian artists to collectors, DJs, musicians and younger listeners interested in psychedelic and African rock. The band’s music has since appeared in international collections and received attention from major music publications, helping establish Zamrock as an important part of global music history. WITCH’s continuing tours show that this interest extends beyond archival releases and can support live performances by artists connected directly to the movement.
The role of guitarist Jones Kabanga also adds to the importance of the band’s current touring lineup. His presence alongside Jagari represents the continuation of WITCH’s guitar-driven musical identity while the group performs for audiences unfamiliar with the band’s original history. Live performances give listeners the chance to hear the combination of rhythm, guitar, vocals and African influences that made WITCH stand out during the Zamrock era. The band’s current lineup has continued to perform internationally, with WITCH listed as a Zamrock act at venues outside Zambia in recent years. This ongoing stage activity demonstrates that the band’s music remains relevant to audiences who value both the history and live energy of psychedelic rock.
The upcoming American tour is also an important moment for Zambia’s cultural visibility. WITCH represents a period when Zambian musicians developed original music that reflected local culture while engaging with global sounds. Bringing that music to dozens of American cities allows the band to present a direct connection to the history of Zamrock rather than leaving that history solely to recordings and documentaries. It also gives international audiences an opportunity to learn more about Zambia’s contribution to rock music and the musicians who shaped that contribution. For younger listeners, the tour can serve as an introduction to a genre that has experienced renewed international recognition after decades of limited exposure outside Africa.
Starting the tour on August 15 in Colorado gives WITCH a clear beginning to what promises to be a demanding schedule across the United States. A 32-date run requires sustained performances and places the band’s music before audiences in different cities and venues across the country. The tour also comes at a time when interest in African psychedelic music continues to grow, giving WITCH an opportunity to connect its historical catalogue with listeners discovering Zamrock for the first time. The band’s visit to the U.S. Embassy before departure adds another notable moment to the tour’s opening chapter, especially with Jagari Chanda and Jones Kabanga presenting copies of Lazy Bones and Zango to Mich Coker. Those albums represent two different but connected eras of WITCH’s story, from its classic 1970s recordings to its modern revival.
WITCH’s 32-date United States tour therefore represents more than another series of international concerts for a veteran Zambian band. It brings the legacy of Zamrock directly to American audiences while demonstrating that music created in Zambia more than five decades ago can still command international attention. Jagari Chanda’s continued leadership, Jones Kabanga’s guitar work and the band’s evolving catalogue give WITCH a strong connection between its historic past and present-day performances. From Lazy Bones to Zango, the band’s music continues to introduce new listeners to the distinctive sound that helped shape Zambia’s rock history. As WITCH takes the stage in Colorado on August 15 and begins its American journey, the tour stands as another important chapter in the band’s long-running contribution to Zambian music and the global appreciation of Zamrock.