Firstly, when the ticket fee for the 10th edition of Blankets and Wine was hiked, people groaned in anger. Was it going to flop? Perhaps; shs 80,000 seemed too much. However, it wasn’t the case on Sunday at Uganda Museum. It was a full house, so to speak.
People turned up in hordes, looking as fashionable as though they were going for a photo shoot for Esquire Magazine. The ladies? Oh, the ladies looked colorful, cute, fashionable and dapper. Thighs were on display. Different hairstyles patched on their heads; long weaves, clean-shaven heads, tinted hair, the kind. The boys looked dapper in their casual look. No blankets, but lots of liquor. Different liquor. City celebrities came through, socialites, Kampala’s middleclass, the bourgeois lot.
The first performer, Solome, walked up the stage at about 3pm, armed with her band from church (she is a church girl, Solome; matter of fact, she subscribes to Harvest Ministries). She serenaded the audience with her high-pitched piercing vocals. It drizzled a bit with a large nimbus cloud threatening to spoil the plot. But Solome yakked on, singing; her backup singers aiding her with penetrating good vocals. “Nzani,” she sang.
In between, fast-rising singer, K!mera joined her on stage. He later performed his own medley of songs like Slow Down and Gwe Wange. Radio City’s Deedan and Shakib did a brisk job as the day’s emcees.
Next on stage was Apass. Here is the thing, he hasn’t mastered the art of performing; he was a bore. And he talked a lot. For a while, people ignored the performance and instead took countless selfies and took in their favorite drinks as the Wuuyo singer struggled to impress. But when Lillian Mbabazi stepped up there, life was restored. The girl, this former Blu*3 songstress, has mastered the game of solo career. She slotted in effortlessly. I mean, she has been doing this for quite a while now with her Sundowners band playing at Big Mikes and other bars. Her performance was good; she was an audience darling. People belched out in delight, taking pictures and singing along to her songs, dancing too. It had turned evening. The music never stopped, so did the selfies. People rose on their feet and danced to every song that was played.
Deedan walked up the stage, people chanted loudly. She remained a bit calm. Meanwhile, the stage was being reset. Zahara was coming, it looked. People started walking towards the stage, nearing it, armed with their phones and selfie sticks. They never wanted to miss the opportunity. The next performer on stage was, well, Zahara herself. She ambled gently, ducked under a forest of neat hair, smiling. People roared noisily. The lad on the piano, wearing dreadlocks that fell behind his shoulders, dipped his fingers on the keys. Zahara’s two backup singers cleared their voices. And Zahara, herself, greeted the audience in her native Xhosa. It was Showtime.
She kicked off with Destiny. Some people who were smart enough to Google the lyrics sang along. Her voice was soothing and melodic; it reminded me of Freshly Ground who performed on the same stage themselves months ago. Thereafter, she was unstoppable; she performed songs like Phendula, My Guitar, Ndize, Umthwalo, et al. And when the pianist sunk his fingers on the key and played the introductory instrumentation of Loliwe, it felt as though a jolt of current passed through the audience. People sang along to it, word-by-word. A South African flag was seen being waved in the audience. She later performed her popular Nelson Mandela song. Like they say, it was epic.
Blankets and Wine is sponsored by Tusker Malt Lager.
Staff Writer