For Shepherd Chiwandire, the Parkland stage in Winkler has become a special place.
Though Chiwandire, who releases music under the stage name Chiwaz, has never set foot on it as a performer, it has nonetheless come to symbolize his hopes and dreams as a musical artist.
“My daughter started speaking when she was quite young. She was fully having conversations with us. And one day, she had a dream … she said, ‘Dad, I saw you on stage and leading people into worship.’”
It was an image that resonated with Chiwandire, who felt it was an encouragement to pursue his musical passion as a Christian artist.
“There’s always doubts—am I doing the right thing? Am I going to impact people? For me, it’s not really about getting a pat on the back. It’s more that I’m sharing my personal story and my beliefs and you hope that someone will be out there to receive it. So that [message] really changed my whole thoughts and my whole mindset.”
In the years since, the Winkler outdoor stage has become a focal point of sorts for Chiwandire
“Every time I’m around here, I do a walkabout and come to the stage and just pray here and say, ‘One day, Lord.’ And it might not even be this physical stage—it could be on Spotify, where you can reach millions and millions of people more than on stage. One day.”
Chiwandire has taken his first steps towards that “one day” in recent years with the release of several singles. This week, he’s taking an even greater leap with the release of his first album.
20:24 drops at midnight on Friday, Sept. 27 on all the major online music platforms.
It’s named after Acts 20:24 in the Bible: “However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”
“For me, personally, being a believer … I want to go out there and minister through my music,” Chiwandire says, describing his music as a blend of styles and even languages—English as well as his native Shona and Ndebele. Chiwandire grew up in Zimbabwe and immigrated to Canada a decade ago.
“It’s a real gumbo of music. I grew up with the influence of Afro house and reggae, so there’s a bit of that. There’s also gospel music, so up-tempo but also very mellow. There’s music that is just acoustic, where’s it’s kind of quiet. And there’s music that is very Afro beat. It’s all these things coming together … I’m just mixing everything up; I don’t want to put myself into a box.”
20:24 features 11 tracks, some of them previously released but also several brand new songs.
“There’s a story behind every song,” Chiwandire says. “Whether you’re a Christian or not, as people, we all go through probably the same patterns, but you’d never know it because people don’t hardly share their personal stuff.
“The way I write music is when I feel something or when I speak to people, the people I connect with, if there’s a season of whatever stories I hear or even what I’m going through myself, that makes it into the music.
“I think it’s all about encouragement, no matter what you’re going through—whether it’s a season of not having a job, or a season of being sick, or of losing a loved one …”
Chiwandire shares that one song, “Rudo”, hits especially close to home since the passing of his father.
“Rudo in my native language means love,” he says, explaining the track was dedicated to both his earthly and heavenly fathers. “I was really wanting to just honour God and my dad in that song. That song means everything to me because I had hoped my father would listen to my album, but he passed a few months ago.
“It’s a reminder that life is short. You only live once—you’re not guaranteed tomorrow. So just grab life by the horns and live it to the fullest and make an impact somehow.”
If his music and lyrics touch even just one person, Chiwandire will consider it work well done.
“I got a message from a lady, I think she was in England, and she had come across one of my songs. She said, ‘I was going through something and this song really touched me.’ That really humbled me. That’s why you do it.
“So I’m going to continue doing it and growing too,” Chiwandire says. “I’m just doing what I love, and hopefully it connects with somebody out there.”
You can connect with Chiwandire on Instagram (@mr_chiwaz) or search for his music under “Chiwaz” on Spotify or Apple Music.
