Latest News

16-12-2011
Della Hayes and Dzesi, the Women of
Colour Band  rocked into the  world of international showbiz.

After much persuasion the organisers of the 16th NAK Festival (Nuit Atipiques de Koudougou) in Burkina Faso finally agreed to give Della and her all female band a chance. They allowed them a 45 minutes performance in the evening of the 2nd day of this 5 day festival which takes place from the 30th November to 4th December 2011, and features 27 artiste groups, 7 of them from other countries.

To everyone’s great surprise the girls rocked the open air theatre right from the way they first appeared onto the stage. They built up an enormous tension which climaxed during the performance of their fourth original Dzesi composition that night, Won Ya Ee , (to get somewhere you must work). Here they showed that next to music they have ample additional stage skills. They finished their performance with the smooth Ghanaian Hi Life Aklowa Series.

The crowd was very enthusiastic and impressed, and the President of the festival, Mr Koudbi Koala and his deputy, Mr Alexandre Sawadogo  personally went to congratulate, compliment and interview Della and her girls in their changing room after the show.

And, not surprising, the next morning Della was requested not to return to Ghana yet but to stay on for the big night on Saturday. They were to give an unscheduled performance after the 5 most important participants, to close the musical part of this  festival (against a substantial sum).

And here Della and her girls showed that they are not a one  night wonder but that after launching in early 2009 and much perseverance and hard work, they have now become real professionals. After the one hour performance of 6 original compositions and the  Aklowa Series and Kofi Bee's; Koforidua Flowers (why not);they had a standing ovation from the 3500 strong crowd in a more than packed theatre.

Many regional and international festival and competition organisers have meanwhile shown interest and made commitments, and 2012 will include many regional tours for Della and her 5-7 female musicians. The Dzesi band is not on the pay roll of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs however 3500 people last week in Burkina Faso would have agreed that these six ladies represented the red, gold and green as efficiently as our embassies carry the great name of Ghana abroad. If they continue on the trajectory that they are on now, 2012 should see them reap the benefits of the momentum they have built up, bringing more fame to the name – GHANA!
www.nak.bf


31-10-2011
At the National Theatre again.......
On 19 November Della Hayes and Dzesi, the Women of Colour band, will perform at the “Sounds of Sweetness”, a concert at the national theatre.


27-01-2011
At the National Theatre again.......
On Valentine’s day, Monday 14th February,  Della Hayes and Dzesi, the Women of Colour band, will perform at the “Night of Honouring Women in the Creative Industry in Ghana”, a program organised by Musiga  (Musicians Union of Ghana) under the auspices of the Ministries of Women and Children’s Affairs,  and of  Chieftaincy and Culture.
Entrance is free, tickets are available the Musiga offices  (old passport office), phone  0302 672626.
And there will be a little surprise on that evening.....................


19-01-2011
Koo Nimo inspects Dzesi.
Out of nowhere Koo Nimo, leading folk musician and king of palm wine music in Ghana and guitarist, sometimes called the emperor of Ghana high life  was sitting there at +233, watching the ladies perform and making notes, and interviewing some of them.  To Della he mentioned that he was happy that she had taken the initiative and that as he, Koo was slowly moving of the scene she should take the mantle. A very heavy loaded statement indeed !  

01-01-2011
New year’s message from Della Hayes
This has been one of the most exiting years in my life. The band has stayed together, and presently the band is moving forward like a fully charged battle tank, and 2011 looks very bright indeed. We have worked very hard for this and rehearsed very regular. And now we are starting to get support  from many directions, some of it we even  have to refuse.
In 2011 we hope to record our first album with at least 10 of our own songs, some of them in French and a lot of hippidippip in it, tour the nation and the sub region and, oh dream oh dream, our trip to the USA and Canada. Just to let you know that we have a few things lined up.
Welcome on board to Eddy and Wendy  
And, a special thank you to Alex, Andy, Bessa, Bobby, Cephas, Dani, Dore, Eddy, Eelco, Eric, Faat, Gilbert, Jean Marie, Julius, Ken, Kojo, Kojo,  Manyo and Co, Mary,  the Odoi’s, Oumar, Paul, Paulina, Samuel, Vivian, Woodin and all the fans and last but not least: a very happy new year to all of you and be blessed.

With kind regards,
Della.

24-12-2010
Dzesi performs  with Kojo Antwi in the National Theatre
A last minute arrangement, maybe, but if Music Maestro. Kojo Antwi, for his 19th Christmas Concert, sets his eyes on Dzesi, then that is the most beautiful ending of the year we could have imagined. For the second time in less than 3 weeks we were in the National Theatre, and again we convinced the crowd. Ok, a bit the same songs as at MOGO, noted, we’ll change that in future., We got 10 songs of our own now anyway.
And: THANK YOU, KOJO.




11-12-2010
Relaunch of Della’s first CD at Silverbird
The first batch of  Della’s CD’s “From Africa with love Vol 1”, launched in April 2009 is now almost sold out  and before a second batch is done Silverbird Entertainment, Accra Mall, one of the sales points, suggested a relaunch.
 Della appeared as on the CD cover, complete with the flowers, with a life size copy of the CD cover behind her, and passing  children were invited to try our rocking horses and have a picture taken which the parents could take home. Dzesi,  the women of colour band played inside the shop.
The public was impressed with this unusual presentation, and many well wishers passed by to say hello., amongst them H.E .Highlife Queen  Asabea Cropper  and  her twin brother Kenteman.




03-12-2010
Della interviewed on TV3,  Della and Dzesi on the City FM MOGO show at the National Theatre.
Wow, in less than 20 months our girls have made it onto one of the major national shows. Della was interviewed live  in the morning at TV3 and most importantly, in the evening Della and Dzesi managed to win the hearts of  the public and the music gurus  at the National Theatre.
They are ”in” now, and more is surely to follow.

06-10-2010
Wendel of Osibisa performs with Della  at +233
It was another great Wednesday night at +233, the ladies performed well, but the break took much longer than usual with guest artists such  as singer Wendel , singer and keyboardist Bessa Simmons and guitarist George Darko taking over the stage. And then Wendel called Della onto the  stage and introduced her as his old team mate from 1992, when they did the House of the Rising Sun together at the Dubois Centre, and which  today they repeated once more.
This has been one of Della’s old favourites and she did well, and it was warmly received.
Question: is it “ my father was a sailor” or “my mother was a tailor”? I have both versions, both recorded by the Animals with by Eric Burdon!


Wendel, Bessa Simmons and Della


30-09-2010
Dzesi performs at the Mc Tontoh tribute concert.
This Mc Tontoh Tribute Concert  at the Alliance Francaise Theatre  was surely the best attended concert in Accra for years, the place was fully and scaringly packed. No wonder , free entrance and Osibisa, Kojo Antwi, Ambolley, Ben Brako, Kwabena Kwabena, Becca, Rockstone, VIP, Obrafour, KSM, Nana Yaa and many others on the bill. And with Dzesi as curtain openers........
Hey, are we going to be famous? Well.we are doing better and better and people start to talk about us....
And a big salut to the organisers, Creative Storm and Flying Elephant,  well done.




15-09-2010
Amandzeba joins Dzesi for a jamming session
Popular singer Amandzeba visited +233 and joined our ladies for a short jamming session where he, to most people’s surprise, showed that he has string skills as well.




12-09-2010
Della Hayes and Dzesi jam with Hugh Masekela at +233 Jazz Club.
South African trumpeter, flugel hornist, cornetist, composer, and singer Hugh Masekela visited Accra and of course visited +233 Jazz Club and Grill where he found Della and Dzesi performing.
Of course he could not resist such a sweet cake and he jammed, He promised to come back.......





10-09-2010
Dzesi performs at AGC Gold Mines at Obuasi.
More and more invitations are coming in for the ladies to perform and a remarkable visit was this one when they were forced  out of their colourful dresses into something more suitable for the occasion.

01-08-2010
Wendy Opoku joins Dzesi as a drummer.
Wendy is the youngest of all, but surely she will influence  the band’s performances.




15-07-2010
Della Hayes and Dzesi, the Women of Colour Band to perform on Wednesdays at +233 Grill and Jazz Club
(former Base Line Jazz Club on the Ring Road, opposite GBC)
Even before this new Jazz Club opened and though Dzesi is not really a Jazz band,  the +233 management contracted Della and her ladies for the Wednesday nights, and since then it has been full swing and packed.




20-06-2010
Dzesi performs at Alliance Francaise on Music day
Dzesi was selected by Alliance Francaise to perform at music day (Fete de la Musique) on 20th June at the Alliance Francaise theatre in Accra, and our girls were on the same bill as Bibie Brew, Nana Yaa, IreneLogan and Blakk Rasta.. They had  rehearsed very seriously towards this  and somehow  stole the show and were the only artists who had to come back for an ”encore”. They really  have matured !
Coincidentally, Della Hayes launched her band just over a year ago at the same venue, so this was a bit like a birthday party. Pity that the very severe rain on that day kept a lot of people at home and did not really allow for photographs.




04-05-2010
Della Hayes and Dzesi, the Women of Colour Band perform on 9th of May at Mothers Day at Citizin Kofi Entertainment Centre, Accra, with Paulina Oduro and Bessa Simons as guest artists.
This was a very plush environment for our ladies to play in, the very Hollywood Lounge, but they quickly commanded the show and had this select crowd at their feet and on the floor within minutes.  Guest singers Paulina Oduro and Bessa Simons (who is also Dzesi’s musical director) added to the excitement. 
Citizin Kofi managers had mentioned that they wanted to test the girls, but had to swallow their words after the show, and admitted that they were impressed.

Read article >>




29-04-2010
Dzesi celebrates first birhtday party!
Read article & Press releases>>


03-03-2010
Della performed at Oak Plaza Hotel, Joe's bar, Spintex Road, Accra.
Very nice romantic surroundings, and a golden opportunity for the fans to interact with Della.




01-03-2010
Are you an artist or musician and do you want to display your creations during our performances or be on stage with us? Contact us, the more the merrier.

31-01-2010
After 3 months regular Thursday performances since October at the Jazz Bar of Alisa North Ridge Hotel we have decided to take a break.
Thanks guys, it was our pleasure, we'll be back. Maybe it wasn't all Jazz that we played, but hippidippip is taking off.




31-12-2009
End of year message
Well, end of the year and a look back. Not bad for a start up, we have performed and rehearsed a lot, got some of our own songs now and all of us are confident that we are moving into the right direction, and hippidippip is taking off.
Pity we lost our musical director Col Faat to greener pastures, and sure he will be back. And, the better news, welcome on board to our new musical director Bessa Simons. Bessa is an old hand and will make all of us leapfrog.
And we had some nice gigs, the World Bank, the Goethe Institute, WAPP VRA/ECG, Bond Financial Services, Musiga, Accra Shopping Mall for the X Mass carols with Charterhouse, VRA Ladies Association (where the sound system and a few more things let us down, sorry), British Council Education reception, Kofi Annan Peacekeeping Centre, Women's Award night, a few more. Told you we would go places.
Happy New Year from all of us.

22-12-2009
Della Hayes interview Weekly Fylla Magazine: Nudity can't sell.
Read article >>

25-11-2009
Della Hayes and Dzesi, the Women of Colour Band have performed at the African Week in Alisa Hotels Northridge on Thursday 26th, Friday 27th and Saturday 28th November amongst Alisa’ superb African food and palm wine.




12-11-2009
Super performance at Chester’s bar on Wednesday.
For those of you who think that sometimes Chester’s can be a bit boring, last night we had Della Hayes, Paulina Odoru and Stepanie singing it out against each other, and Kweku Opoku adding his harmonica at full power.
Fantastic evening and lets hope this will be repeated.

05-10-2009
Women of colour choose color.
True to their name, all our ladies of colour have now chosen their own favorite color. They will always wear something having this color, be it the full dress or just an earring. Be on the look out for it !

04-10-2009
Della Hayes and Dzesi, the Women of Colour Band performed on TV Africa’s Soundz Splash Saturday evening show yesterday 3.10.09.

03-10-2009
Sarah Aryee joins Dzesi as drummer.
Sash played with, amongst others,  Gail Thompson’s Noir Femme all female 15 piece Jazz group in London and will definitely bring  some additional craft into the band.

02-10-2009
Della Hayes and Dzesi, the Women of Colour Band performed at the Alisa North Ridge Hotel Jazz Bar last night and astonished the public.
Read article >>

13-09-2009
Audition at Royal Richester Hotel turns into full swing evening
What was planned to be a simple audition of about one hour for Della Hayes and Dzesi, The Women of Colour Band on Saturday 12.09.09 at the Royal Richester Hotel at East Legon, Accra, turned into a full 4 hours concert and a very swingy evening.
Read article >>

27-08-2009
Hey Della what are you up to?
Well, for those who were not at Chester’s last night, you missed it, you missed the best. This was very special indeed,  Della, you and Chester kept all of us spellbound. Keep it up, and give us more of this.
Or are we witnessing something else?

12-07-2009
Della performs at Dubois centre
Last night Della Hayes did a short performance  at the Dubois Centre in Accra at the Musiga  Obama’s  visit after party, and tribute to Michel Jackson, amongst other Ghanaian music stars and the international community.
Unfortunately Della came alone, her all women’s band Della Hayes and Dzesi, The Women of Colour Band was performing elsewhere at a private function. But Della’s duo with Bibie Brew was refreshing. Lets have more of this.

02-06-2009
Della Hayes and Dzesi, The Women of Colour Band performed at the Ghana Women’s Award Dinner
Read article >>

30-04-2009
Dzesi and Della’s CD launched despite the rain
Della Hayes and Dzesi, The Women of Colour Band launched, Della Hayes CD “from Africa with Love launched, Alliance Francaise full house despite the rain. Read further for newspaper coverage and photographs.
Read article >>

24-04-2009
BBC, and Joy FM have picked up Della Hayes and Dzesi, The Women of Colour Band.
This morning the day started early for Della Hayes and Dzesi, The Women of Colour Band, with the BBC announcing tonight’s launch in their morning show at 0650, and Kojo Opong of the Joy FM Super Morning Show explaining on air to his friends at 0815 that he would be attending the launch, and advising his friends to do so as well. Well, the day could have started worse… ?

News 22.04.2009
Dzesinyornu drops nyornu
Dzesinyornu drops nyornu and becomes Della Hayes and Dzesi, The Women of Colour Band.
2 Days before D-day, 24th April, the lauch date of Dzesinyornu, Della Hayes has admitted to close friends that she agrees with them, Dzesinyornu is too long, and just Dzesi sounds just fine. So what will be launched this coming Friday is Della Hayes and Dzesi, The Women of Colour Band.
“You’ll be looking at the same band but with a different name” Della said, “but the other one was just too much of a mouth full”.

06-04-2009
Dzesinyornu, The Women of Colour Band on the KSM show
Last Friday night there was an unexpected flash all over the nation when Kweku Ntim hosted Dzesinyornu, The Women of Colour Band on his popular “Thanks God its Friday” TV3 show, repeated on Sunday afternoon.
Read article >>

26-02-2009
Article Graphic Showbiz: Who are these women?
If there is anyone out there who still thinks that a good, swinging band can only be made up of men or at best a combination of men and women, then a bunch of adventurous women musicians is out to prove that person wrong.
Read article >>