The 22nd edition of the Koroga Festival was held on the weekend of the 12th and 13th of May at the Two Rivers Mall Grounds. The Sunday show featured Kenya’s own Tetu Shani, South African band Mi Casa and the main act Congolese musician, Werrason.
The crowd, a mix of both young and old, came out in large numbers to see their favourite artists. The fashion did not disappoint as usual with many attendees dressed in African fabric and jewellery. The unpredictable Nairobi weather gave us a break with the sun coming out for a warm and enjoyable afternoon.
The show kicked off at 2pm with Tetu Shani, an award winning singer-songwriter who describes his sound as Urban Folk, hitting the stage first. It was beautiful seeing him perform at the event something he had stated was his lifelong dream. He kicked off his performance with an instrumental version of Todii by Oliver Mtukudzi. His unique style of storytelling as he sings was really appealing to the crowd and in no time the party started jumping. Tetu surprised the crowd by bringing out Mayonde and together they performed their hit song Chemistry.
Mi Casa was next on stage and they came to bring the house down. Having performed at the event before, the trio knew how to entertain the crowd. J’Something, who has always been a favourite with the Kenyan ladies, got the crowd moving closer to the stage and breaking a leg to their House Music sound. They performed their hit songs such as Turn You On, Jika and finished with Feeling You.
Finally Werasson and his band hit the stage. Anyone could tell the crowd had been waiting eagerly for his performance with how well he was received on stage. Together with his band, he performed his greatest hits such as Sololá Bien, Pentagone and Techno Malewa Mecanique .It was beautiful seeing his band display their musical prowess with their instruments and voices live as that is what they are known well for. The Soukous singer delivered an energetic performance for a little over two hours.
Other than the music, there were many other different activities going on at the festival but what stood out for the most was the Singleton section where they had a lot of interactive activities going on.
Chef Hector Sanchez from Spain but working at the Brew Bistro had a wide selection of meals that were infused with the Singleton Whiskey. The menu included food items such as Pork Ban Bhao, Churros, Pulled Pork and many others. By 6pm, most of the meals had already been sold out with many revelers speaking highly of the food. The two brands (Singleton and Brew Bistro) proved to be a perfect pairing and will be working together to provide street food to party goers soon and it will be epic!
There was also an art section where some artists were showcasing their work such as Emmaus Kimani who had a beautiful photograph series. I got my own caricature done in a matter of minutes by the talented Mike Luande, which was the absolute highlight of my day.
Considering it was the first event at the new venue, I can confidently say the 22nd edition of Koroga was a success despite the mud and poor network coverage.