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Why you should attend a festival at least once this year
There is some great local music that rarely gets played on radio or TV. Much of this music is found at contemporary music festivals. PHOTO/ANDREW KAGGWA
What you need to know:
- Festivals in Uganda have always been the place tastemakers pick the next best talent. Think about Kenneth Mugabi, Irene Ntale, Azawi, Elijah Kitaka, or Joshua Baraka.
- Before most of these prolific performers released a song that changed their lives, they were regulars at festival settings.
As you read this, January is definitely behind us, we have stopped telling each other Happy New Year and we are back to our normal grinds--- the chase for money is real.
Most of the time, when we start the year, we give ourselves targets, and it is usually around being healthier, working harder, saving more money and less about being happy.
And that is where today’s topic comes in--- festivals.
Over the years, many Ugandans have been introduced to festivals in different ways, forgetting the days when most people associated the gatherings with expatriates and art they did not understand.
It is comfortable to say that festivals were liberalised and made accessible even to the last ordinary person. They have been organised at all imaginable levels and open to all sorts of disciplines.
We have, for instance, witnessed the pork festival, rolex festival, nkwacho festival, as well as the traditional ones which celebrate music or film.
World over, many of the festivals celebrate excellence in the arts in all genres, food, fashion, music, dance, theatre and culture, among others.
In Uganda, the belief was that festivals target the rich or expatriates, who in our minds are crazy about African art and culture. Most of the time we believe that such celebrations have nothing new to offer to us since we have grown up around everything they tend to glorify.
However, what many of such detractors forget is that glorifying what is uniquely ours is what makes us standout. Nigeria, Ghana, Mali, Senegal, Ivory Coast or Benin export more of their art to the West because of the X factor, you will find on their songs – they play with local traditional instruments and thus, their sound is neither manipulated or emulated.
And that is what festivals celebrate – authenticity.Nothing against artistes trying to emulate Nigerians and Jamaicans, but most of the time at concerts, they easily come off as people screaming things they do not understand.
The same names performing the same playlist. It becomes painful, even for devoted concert followers.
In Uganda for instance, there is a small pool of people involved in concert production and promotion. Some of these do not only put events together, they manage a wide array of artistes, who in the end book for all events they produce.
Attending one of their events is as good as attending all their events in a snap. But these are the reasons you should attend a festival this year.
The people
They say Ugandans are some of the happiest and most friendly people. At festivals, whether it is a Ugandan, a tourist or an expatriate looking for a little fun, everyone is in a good mood.
Can you imagine being in a place where everyone is willing to start a conversation with anyone and at times they will talk for hours before eventually asking what your name is.
The most important thing is that once most of you are attending the same festival, chances are that you are like-minded thus you could make friends and probably future collaborators.
The music
If you thought music in 2024 was problematic, that is because you rarely step out of Uganda’s pop culture bubble.
There is indeed a lot of amazing local music that rarely gets played on radio or TV.
Much of this music is found at contemporary music festivals, session singers such as reggae artiste Jajja Timo get to bask in glory at festivals such as Pearl Rhythm Festival, while places such as Blankets and Wine will introduce you to yet another brilliant act such as Essie Omweshongozi.
Festivals in Uganda have always been the place tastemakers pick the next best talent. Think about Kenneth Mugabi, Irene Ntale, Azawi, Elijah Kitaka, or Joshua Baraka.
Before most of these prolific performers released a song that changed their lives, they were regulars at festival settings.
The places
If there is one thing Covid-19 taught us, it is the fact that virtual concerts cannot replace live shows. Think about it this way, during the lockdown, Kampala International Theatre Festival held a virtual edition, and so did Nyege Nyege Festival. Yet for some reason, no one even remembers what happened at those editions, not the acts and neither the people.
Festivals usually take place in well thought out venues. For instance, attending Nyege Nyege Festival at the Nile Discovery Resort or Itanda Falls, offered more than just a venue, but an experience.
This was the same case with the Ugandan Festival that was held in Mombasa at Fort Jesus, or Sauti za Busara, Zanzibar’s premiere music festival which takes place at the Old Fort.
The venues of festivals are a gateway into the places’ tourism and culture, something you may not have gotten engrossed in if you chose to go out to for a concert at an arena or conference hall.
The journey
There is a thrill that comes with travelling long distances, especially with a big group. For many who attend festivals out of Uganda or even Kampala, you clearly understand the thrill of moving together, the banter, conversations and food that come with the journey, as an experience worth every penny.
