KAMPALA– Last Friday, June 21, Alliance Francaise de Kampala( AFK ) together with its partners organised the Fete de la Musique commonly known as the World Music day.
This time around, they chose a better bigger venue at Sheraton Kampala Gardens in the heart of the city, did more advertising on social media, radio and indeed the turn was very good compared to the previous ones.
Since the space was enough, those who displayed their products in the stalls and tents had the luxury to show case their merchandise without limitations at the same time while the audience was waiting for the real deal in live music.
At 5:00pm, the Nilotika Ensemble did the ushering performances with drum sessions which were at the same time educative and related back to the drumming as a form of communication and an entertainment tool.
As the evening was getting darker, the audience was treated to acoustic sessions from Biya, the Queen of Mbale. It was my first time to listen to her music in the ears and for sure, she did not disappoint and her appearance from the dress code was just perfect for a female star in the making. The other outstanding thing was her uniquely made guitar that was finely tuned for the strums of love.
The custom of live music was observed and multi- talented instrumentalist Brian Aliddeki was in check for his engaging performances that focus mainly on promoting Uganda as great tourism destination with a touch of folk songs.
After a delightful moment from Aliddeki , Joshua Baraka braced the microphone and for some of us who hadnot seen him perform live were convinced that he is taking the right path of his musical journey, the vocals were clear and one could tell that he is up for his game and did sound rehearsals.
He performed for about half an hour and the most captivating moment was the when he did the “Dalilah” song which was a testament that the audience was ready for him and knew the lyrics to the extent that they sung along.
The Audience seemed the right one for him and it was the best place for artist to even appeal more to those that knew him from far since they asked for an encore which was not possible.
Our near Kenyans brothers and sisters were fully represented by Makadem as one of the main acts and was backed up by Double Black on the drums.
Known for his Harp-like instrument , he displayed his prowess with it and the band team did justice to most of the songs that were done in Kiswahili which the audience enjoyed despite most not understanding the language.
Shortly, after 10: 00pm, the main act of the night Azawi kicked on stage all clad in black outfits. Since her catalogue is that big, she commenced with ” This Year”, ” Tulibweru, and “Low fit ” were part of set.
She has mastered the art of engaging the audience because even with the short technical clinch, the audience was still glued to her and called out a male fan to dance with her.
The high light of night was when she did ” Masavu” a trending banger for 2024 which every one was waiting for and she really nailed because people got a full doze of her vibe.
