Africa Tour

Sowing Seeds Of Bluegrass In Zimbabwe
The title used for this page is the phrase used by the promoters who booked my friend Larry Lashley and I to perform our music at various venues in Zimbabwe, Africa. I hope that they don’t mind that we played some cowboy music while we were there too!


In April and early May of 2000 my fiddle playing pal, Larry Lashley and I were invited to attend the Harare, Zimbabwe, International Festival of Arts (HIFA) where we were joined by artists and performers of all types from all over the world. We traveled to Africa at the request of the Ambassador’s wife who had heard Larry play his fiddle when he was here the year before, visiting his sister and her husband, Larry Folley,
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurence_Foley) while we stayed in Africa.

While there we performed at indoor and outdoor concerts and we were treated to a photo safari while we were recuperating from jet-lag and waiting for our instruments to arrive. We also did a little music exchange program with a music class from a small high school in the heart of one of the most impoverished parts of Harare. Given that the economy of Zimbabwe is one of the worst in the world and that the country is ruled by a tyrannical dictator, Robert Mugabe, we didn’t know what to expect when we visited with the local citizens or what we might find when we exchanged music performances with the school kids.

The following series of music videos and African wildlife videos begins with Orange Blossom Special performed in the music room of a Harare high school. The students were bussed to school on one of their days off in order to be with us. Some of the following performances were done by the students and some by Larry Lashley and I. All that are shown on this page were taken during the April/May, 2000 trip to Zimbabwe, Africa. We found the students to be highly intelligent, highly talented, and delightful to be with despite their plight of trying to survive in a country that while blessed with a temperate climate, rich in tillable soil and natural resources, and populated by citizens who are willing to work to make their lives and those of their children better, suffers one of the highest inflation rates (over 1000%) year after year. The extreme poverty is pervasive across the entire nation and the AIDS epidemic is evident everywhere you look in the highly populated areas; except in the eyes of those who have managed to avoid it. There you find love and lots of hope for a better future. God only knows how to provide them with what they need. We hope that in some small way we helped them keep the spark burning that helps them hold fast to their faith and that we brought a few moments of happiness and hope into their lives. I wish we could have accommodated their request to bring them all back to the USA with us but at least we were able to record their performances and make them available for all to see.

Harare, Zimbabwe High School Boys – Marimba Quartet
The students and faculty at this school have somehow managed to keep the education program going despite an extreme lack of financial resources. The four different sized marimbas being played in this video were not purchased from a music store, they are hand made from hardwood and other materials gathered in nature.


Amazing Grace
Larry plays this song with a lot of feeling. Unfortunately the music video lost some pieces along the way between when it was being played and filmed in African and when it finally got converted from analog to digital. You may notice that several other songs from our Africa tour have suffered the same fate. I wish there was something we could do to fix them but there’s not; short of going back to Africa and starting all over. Come to think of it, that’s not too bad of idea!


Marimba Trio
These young men are GROOVIN’!


The Devil Went Down To Georgia
Sometimes when we play this song it seems like Larry is trying to set his fiddle on fire with that bow!


Vimbainashe Zimuto – Plays Her Mbira and Sings “Bonga”
As you can see by her smile, this pretty and talented young woman was very shy about performing. Even though Larry and I could not understand a word she was singing, we were spellbound by her beautiful voice and her exceptional talent for playing the mbira. Her mbira, like the school’s marimbas, was hand made out of locally available materials; hard wood for the sound board and resonator and pieces of scrap metal that had been salvaged and shaped into the chimes which are clamped tightly into place on the soundboard. Each note is played by the musician plucking the chimes with their nimble thumbs and fingers.


Grand closing by the Harare High School Choir Singing “Glorify!”
It would be an understatement to say that Larry and I were impressed by these kids talent and enthusiasm. With the economy being what it is in Zimbabwe and with these young adults coming from homes where there probably isn’t any running water, they attend class dressed in hand-me-down, many times mended uniforms that may not fit perfectly but which were all spotlessly clean and pressed. The kids were respectful towards each other and towards their teachers. It is obvious that their hearts are full of love and their souls brimming with music and talent. There are life lessons to be learned here that should be very beneficial to students, faculty, administrators, and parents living and working in societies that are so much more affluent, if only we knew how to carry this mentality, attitude and discipline back to the USA with us….


The beauty of Zimbabwe combined with the warmth and kindness of her people will remain in our minds and hearts forever. But, as we were sent there to do, in our parting moments we continued to do our best to tie our separate parts of the world together through music. Here Larry and I have one last go at Boil That Cabbage Down set to the backdrop of video clips of African wildlife we were able to record while we were there. The little grass thatched hut in the first part of this clip is actually a shelter for an armed guard who patrolled the grounds of our host, the late Laurence Foley, (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurence_Foley) while we stayed in Africa.

Farewell To Africa

About Me

My photo
I am a professional musician that currently entertains at guest ranches and performs concerts for private engagements and at RV resorts. I enjoy playing solo instrumental guitar as well as playing and singing traditional western music. I usually throw in quite a bit of stuff from old 20s - 50s big band standards too. For the most part I perform solo but I also enjoy playing with jazz bands, country bands and polka bands. I started my career playing solo instrumental guitar (listening music) at Ladd's Covered Wagon in Fort Collins, CO when I was 18. I especially love performing at guest ranches because the venues are small enough that I get a chance to make friends with a lot of the guests and I look forward to seeing them again on their return visits to the ranches. The ranches also feed me well and they always treat me like royalty, just as they do their guests! I would love to hear from you and I hope to see you in person in the near future. I would be happy to become Face Book; friends with you. This link will take you to my page, https://www.facebook.com/ben.alexander.98096. Thanks!

2024 Performance Schedule As Of 4/20/2024


Last week of May 2024 Special Performance for MARSOC Raiders (Marine Recon Sniper Foundation) Retreat at Rawah Ranch.

June - September 2024 Monday Evenings at Rawah Guest Ranch

Schedule of Past Performances

June - September 2023 Monday Evenings at Rawah Guest Ranch

Last week of May 2023 Special Performance for MARSOC Raiders (Marine Recon Sniper Foundation) Retreat at Rawah Ranch.

Last week of May, 2022 - Special Performance for Marine Special Operations Forces (MARSOC) at Rawah Ranch.

June - September 2021 Friday Evenings at Rawah Guest Ranch

Week Prior To Memorial Day 2021 - Special Performance for Marines Special Operations Forces (MARSOC) Raiders, Marine Recon and Sniper Foundation at Rawah Guest Ranch

Februrary 8, 2020 - US Warriors post-snowmobile tour benefit performance at River Rock Café, Walden, CO

March 14, 2020 - American Legion - LaPorte, CO
Members Only Buffet Dinner Performance.

Week Prior To Memorial Day 2020 - Special Performance for Marines Special Operations Forces (MARSOC) Raiders, Marine Recon and Sniper Foundation at Rawah Guest Ranch.

Friday evenings each week at Rawah Ranch starting on June 12, 2020 and running through September 2020.

Private party engagement on June 25, 2020.

Summer of 2019 -June through September - Weekly performances at Rawah Guest Ranch and Laramie River Ranch

01/17, 2018 - Dude Ranch Association Convention at DoubleTree/Hilton, Denver Tech Center.

02/0 3. 2018 - North Park Veterans and Wounded Warriors Path honor performance at River Rock Cafe, Walden, CO

Thursday evenings at Rawah Ranch beginning in early June and running through September 2018.

Friday evenings at Laramie River Ranch beginning June 23rd and running to mid-September 2018. />Weekly Performances at Laramie River Ranch - June - September 2017.
Weekly Performances at Rawah Guest Ranch - June - September 2017.


May 20, 2017
Wounded Warrior Path benefit at Sundance Trail Guest Ranch (Cancelled due to snow storm.)

5/21/2016
Early evening performance for some wounded warriors from Fort Carson at Sundance Trail Guest Ranch

5/28/16

Early afternoon performance for rancher friends of mine in one of my favorite mountain valleys.

6/10/16 - 9/23/16
Evening Performances every Friday Night at Laramie River Ranch during the 2016 guest season.


6/15/16
Evening Performance at Rawah Guest Ranch

6/23/16
Evening Performance at Rawah Guest Ranch

7/21/16
Evening Performance at Rawah Guest Ranch

7/27/16
Evening Performance at Badger Creek Ranch

8/4/16

Evening Performance at Rawah Guest Ranch

8/11/16

Evening Performance at Rawah Guest Ranch

8/25/16

Evening Performance at Rawah Guest Ranch

9/15/16

Evening Performance at Rawah Guest Ranch

9/21/16
Video Shoot followed by

Evening Performance at Rawah Guest Ranch

9/29/16
Evening Performance at Rawah Guest Ranch for Marine Special Ops Forces, Raiders Team

10/15/16
Evening Performance with some other musicians at Sundance Trail Guest Ranch for a group of wounded warriors and their sweethearts.

10/30/15
Private Engagement for a 50th Wedding Anniversary

10/03/2015

Campfire Performance for Wounded Warriors - Sundance Trail Guest Ranch

10/02/2015
Rawah Ranch Performance for MARSOC Raiders

8/4/2015
Tuesday evening performance at Rawah Guest Ranch.

7/20/15
Rawah Ranch - Grand Re-opening.

6/12/2015
Laramie River Ranch Summer of 2015 - Every Friday evening throughout the 2015 guest season.

5/23/2015

Campfire Performance for Wounded Warriors
- Sundance Trail Guest Ranch

3/15/2015
Freedom Concert at American Legion, George Beach Post #4


6/1/2014
Laramie River Ranch Summer of 2014
- Every Friday evening throughout the 2014 guest season.

10/4/2013
Private Corporate Party in Loveland area

2/15/2013
Laramie River Ranch Summer of 2013
- Every Friday evening throughout the guest season.

7/23/2013
Private Birthday Party camp out near the Rio Chama

7/27/2013
Flying Moose Music Festival - 4:30 to 5:15 time slot

Laramie River Ranch - Summer of 2012
- Every Friday Evening, June 8th through September 21st. (Scheduling conflicts may occasionally result in the performance occurring on a different night of the week.

Casa Del Valle in Alamo, TX - Benefit Performance on Mar 6, 2012 for First Responders

Laramie River Ranch - Summer of 2011 - Every Friday Evening June 10th through September 23rd (scheduling conflicts may occasionally result in the performce occurring on a different night of the week)

Brush Creek Ranch near Saratoga, WY - Evening Campfire Performance on June 17, 2011 and on August 10, 2011

Private Family Reunion at Old Glendevey Ranch- July 11, 2011

Rawah Ranch Tuesday Evenings Beginning July 12, 2011

Pioneer Picnic at Ft Collins City Park
- Aug 1, 2011

Bellvue Grange Hall August 27, 2011 Performance at the . Benefit for the historic Bellvue Grange building. Entertainment from 1 - 7 PM. My time slot is from 2 to 3 PM.

Brush Creek Ranch & Spa - Sundown performance at campfire at Creekside. August 30, 2011

Private Performance Near Moab Utah October 1, 2011

Blog Archive


Beautiful Evening for Outdoor Performance at Rawah Ranch