On the evening of June 4th, the Troubadour in Earl’s Court (London) will host The Madalitso Experience, a special event combining a screening of the documentary The Banjo Boys with a live performance from the Malawian duo at the heart of the film, Madalitso Band. This upcoming event has its origins in a film festival submission that came to the Earl’s Court International Film Festival in 2025.
“We were completely blown away by it,” says Caroline Tod-Richardson, ECIFF Founder and Director. “As a feature-length film it fell outside our short film format, but the story and the music were so extraordinary that we knew we had to find a way to bring it to our community. We invited the film’s team and performers to come to Earl’s Court to screen this fantastic film and treat our audience to a live performance as our guests. It felt like a great thing to do, and I am excited that our wish has become a reality.”
The Band
Madalitso Band are Yobu Maligwa and Yosefe Kalekeni, two musicians from Malawi who built their own instruments from extraordinary materials: a handmade banjo, a one-stringed bass known as a babatone, and a foot drum. For years the duo busked on the streets of Lilongwe, where they were largely dismissed as musicians.
Their fortunes changed when British musician Neil Nayar, who had been living in Malawi, met them. This chance meeting developed into a creative partnership that has since taken the trio to Glastonbury, WOMAD, Sauti za Busara in Zanzibar, and Joshua Tree in California.
The Film
The Banjo Boys, directed by Neil’s brother Johan Nayar, is a feature-length documentary that charts this journey. Johan first filmed the duo during a week off work in 2019, producing a short that was selected for the Sound Unseen Documentary Festival. The feature-length version, completed in 2025, had its world premiere as the Opening Gala film at London Breeze Film Festival at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith where it won the Audience Award.
London Breeze Citation for Winner of Audience Award:
“This documentary brought so much joy and life affirmation to the audience on opening night and to its encore audience yesterday. It is a powerful and moving story of resilience, community and how music and creativity can bring us together and offer us hope.”
It has since screened at festivals and venues across the UK and in Italy and the USA.
The film explores the personal stories behind the music: Yobu’s double life as a pastor, Yosefe’s resilience shaped by childhood hunger, and the story of Rice, an original band member who left the group for school and ended up in prison.
The production itself mirrors the serendipity of the band’s own story. Tim Delhaes, a tech entrepreneur, joined as lead producer after a chance encounter with Neil in Liwonde National Park. A growing team of collaborators followed, including advisor David Zannoni, sound designer Guy Dowsett, and executive producers Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe and Satesh Mathura.
The Troubadour screening marks the grand finale of The Banjo Boys: On the Road, a spring tour that has taken the film through village halls and community spaces across the South West, as well as Bristol, Nottingham, and London.
“There is a real resonance with the hero’s journey, and the idea of bringing the nectar back home,” says director Johan Nayar. “For Yobu and Yosefe, that nectar is tangible. Through their music, they have brought stability and structure to their communities back in Malawi. For Neil, it has meant bringing this mesmerising band back to audiences in the UK. Now the film is beginning to do the same, creating connection, conversation, and shared experience wherever it plays.”
An Iconic Venue
The choice of venue carries its own weight. The Troubadour has been a fixture on Old Brompton Road since 1954, when it opened as a bohemian cafe. Its basement stage has hosted Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell and Elton John, and in more recent years Adele, Ed Sheeran and Florence Welch. It remains one of London’s oldest independent music venues and a regular screening location for ECIFF, having hosted events during the festival’s eleventh edition in November 2025.
The Earls Court Development Company is ECIFF’s principal sponsor, and the event reflects the broader ambition to position Earl’s Court as a cultural destination. For Caroline, staging this live music documentary at the Troubadour, where musicians have performed for over seventy years, was an incredible opportunity.
Event Details
Date: June 4th, 2026
Time: 7pm screening | ~8:30pm live performance
Venue: The Troubadour, Earl’s Court, London
Tickets: Available on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-madalitso-experience-the-banjo-boys-doc-madalitso-band-tickets-1986127937125
Madalitso means “blessings” in Chichewa. Having seen and loved the film, and with the band’s remarkable performance in store, the evening in June should live up to the name.
