Overton Longwe

Mr Overton Longwe

Mr Overton is 66 years of age and lives in a remote village in the Nkhata Bay region, playing his own tunes in a Traditional / Malawian rural Gospel style – on a slightly unorthodox instrument for this part of the world! Today, Overton is probably the only accordion player in the North – but in the days past, and especially during colonial times, many churches were using accordions to act as a substitute for a church organ during worship. They were most likely introduced by white missionaries as far back as the 19th century. Overton Longwe is a unique figure in keeping this tradition alive.