What was it like? Well, it wasn’t your normal concert set-up staged in high-end places for a certain social class for a hefty pay. It wasn’t like that. It was just, well, Bayimba Festival; creative, exciting, fun-filled, music, arts and fashion, all squeezed in one arty festival.
Arguably, the best arts festival in the region. The annual festival started off on Friday at National Theatre, it was non-stop action. It was the exhilarating performances from quite a range of artistes that was the talk of town. It was the human traffic pouring into National Theatre premises, hungry for arts, burning with excitement. You could see it in their eyes as they stared up the artistes, smartphones raised capturing the moments, mouths ajar, legs bouncing on the ground unevenly yet excitedly.
The headlining act on Friday evening was the legendary Maddox Sematimba. His wasn’t just a performance, it was one of its kind, where the Namagembe singer enchanted the packed-parking lot with his timeless songs. He looked knocked out, but it didn’t stop him (it has never stopped him) from churning out a performance that hanged heavy in the air like a plume of smoke.
Day Two-Saturday-was seemingly cut off from Friday cloth. Many exciting activities took centre-stage. There had been a photography workshop going on. There had been an arts journalism master class in the National Theatre auditorium. And, of course, the performances from different artistes on two stages (upper stage and the parking lot). This? This was a day where arts climbed up high heavens.
The headlining act was Sheebah Karungi. Different music purists had pulled out their daggers and bade for her blood. Some thought she wasn’t appealing to the Bayimba audience. The clock ticked. Before Day Two turned Day Three, Sheebah Karungi walked up the stage and proved her doubters wrong. How was she? She was serving the proverbial ice cream. And she was the good old Sheebah; energetic, skimpy dressed and seductive. She is a performer, a good dancer, a decent singer and a huge crowd teaser.
The grand finale, on Sunday, was bound to fill up. The numbers were huge, the performers were many yet time was little. In fact, for some revelers wanted the festival to carry on into the next week. Sadly, it didn’t. It had to end and it ended with Radio and Weasel. What a performance!
But before that, Naava Grey had killed it, like they say nowadays. The crooner she was, wearing a long, flowing, silky dress like the ancient Cleopatra, Naava Grey performed a range of her songs: Soka Lami, Nteredde, the likes. All in one special performance, aided by Charmant on a guitar and a few other lads in the background.
The two stages were busy throughout the festival. Busy with artistes and DJs. Busy with art enthusiasts. The festival was quite a success.
Staff Writer
