The eleventh edition of the Tusker Malt Lager sponsored Blankets and Wine Kampala that took place on Sunday at the Uganda Museum has absolutely cemented itself as the must attend event on Uganda’s social calendar.
From the lineup on artistes, the festivities, the guest list, to the fashion sense; everything seems to naturally fall in place. Guitarist Myko Ouma, Swahili Nation and The Kansoul from Kenya were the headline acts.
This edition also gave upcoming artistes; Jackie Akello, Rogartien and Kenneth Mugabi, the Afrosoul man, a platform to catapult their musical journeys to greater heights.
Prior to the event, Dorothy Muttu, the Marketing Manager for Premium Beer at Uganda Breweries Limited said that Tusker Malt Lager and its partners were coming together to give consumers a refreshing, fun-filled end of year experience.
“This time as is the norm, we have a vastly talented artiste line up performing. Simply put, it is a unique cocktail of musical genres; with a perfect blend of fresh afro-fusion and familiar dance hall music. These acts will give us a perfect ending to the year,” she said.
On a bright Sunday December 13, 2015, the Uganda Museum grounds were the place to be. By midday, queues were already building up as revelers, with their picnic bags in tow made their way to the venue.
Jackie Akello, a contemporary African and urban music performer who sings predominantly in her native Acholi performed first, making her debut cameo at the quarterly event. Backed by the extremely talented guitarist Charmat and Janzi Band, Akello who refers to her music as ‘Hybrid,’ a simple cross between urban and local sounds, couldn’t have gotten it wrong. Together they performed Akello’s hit single ‘Afoyo’ before teaming up with Levixone for their ‘Samanya’ track.
As she moved off the stage, Rogartien, a Congolese artiste again teamed up with Charmat for some ‘lingala’ flavor. He performed a rendition of Papa Wemba’s ‘Show me the way’, giving it a new lingala twist.
Kenneth Mugabi, a gifted songwriter and a soulful performer then came on shortly afterwards. Mugabi who first caught the public’s attention as one of the top contestants of Coke’s Rated Next competition immediately got down to serious business. It may have been his debut at Blankets and Wine Kampala, but Mugabi exuded such confidence that endeared him to the audience. The storyteller as he calls himself performed his songs; Naki, Nambi, Sekunkuna among others. All these songs all have folklore tales attached.
By this time, the crowd was on its feet as Myko Ouma, with his treasured guitar firmly perched against his chest, made his way to the stage. What can’t this gentleman do? From Carlos Santana’s ‘Maria Maria’ to Davido’s ‘Aye’ to Radio and Weasel’s ‘Kuku’, Ouma did it all.
After an hour’s performance, the evergreen Swahili Nation was next up. They had promised the audience a musical journey during their performance. Did they pull it off? Well, the crowd’s reaction said it all. The audience barely sat as the trio of Charlie King, Ken Daniels Kayongo and Drew performed hits from the 90’s.
Of course the crowd was only waiting for their ‘Mpenzi, Hakuna Matata’ hit. The ‘god parents’ of East African music as they are often referred to, performed their new ‘Loco’ hit before ‘Hakuna Matata’ hit.
As they concluded their performance, the trio sang ‘Pole (Sorry),’ a song that featured Jose Chameleon. Well, the music doctor was in the audience, what would he do? Join in, and he did, to the excitement of the audience.
The stage had been set for The Kansoul, the main act of the night. Mejja, Kid Kora and Madtraxx have created a formidable partnership that has introduced a new musical sound to East Africans. The trio who also have successful solo careers do not actually consider theirs a group.
“The Kansoul is not a group, we might look like one but we are more of a collaborative effort. We each have our own projects that will soon be released,” they said in a recent interview.
At around 7:20pm, the three came on stage kicking off their performance with ‘Turnaround’, a popular hit in the region. Backed by a live band, the three ‘musketeers’ quickly followed it up with Madtraxx’s ‘Skamares.’ By this time, whether alcohol induced, or musical powers, the entire audience danced and sang along. Mejja then gave his, ‘Bongo’La biashara’ hit a new flow. Other hits the trio performed included; Boda Boda, Dabo Tap, Niko Poa, Jana Kulienda’aje, Get Down.
They wrapped up their maiden performance in Uganda with their ‘Nyongwa’ hit. As they prepared to leave the stage, Jose Chameleon, his young brother Weasel, Navio and comedian Salvador joined in on the action. Using the same Nyongwa instrumental, the four free-styled for the audience.
Then the DJs took over for an after party that was sponsored by Smirnoff.
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