By Our Reporter
For years, Uganda’s live band culture was often treated as the afterparty, something tucked into lounges, bars and late-night hangouts, where musicians breathed new life into other people’s songs while the “real stars” remained the original artists. But bands like Abeeka have quietly changed that script.
After five years of building a reputation as one of Kampala’s most dependable live acts, Abeeka Band is stepping into new territory: its first standalone concert, Roots and Vibes, set for May 2 at Ndere Centre, alongside the release of original music, a major shift for a group largely known for covers.
For the band, this is not just a concert. It is a statement.
“We are extremely happy that people have embraced live bands,” says one of the band members. “Live band music has become a thing right now. It has grown from bands being an average thing, bands not being respected, to where we are right now. And I believe we are still growing.”
That growth reflects a wider shift in Uganda’s nightlife.
There was a time when audiences would scroll through social media asking where they could find a live band performance. Today, one can simply walk through Kampala’s entertainment districts and stumble upon one. From Bugolobi to Kololo and Bandali Rise, live bands have become fixtures of the city’s weekend economy.
For Abeeka, that visibility proves one thing: the sector is still expanding.
“This is our first concert,” the band says. “That means we are still going to do more concerts. Other bands have not even done concerts yet. That means the live band scene is still growing.”
Beyond the “Cover Band” Label
Yet success has come with a complicated tag: cover band. Abeeka has built its audience performing renditions of songs by everyone from Maddox Sematimba to Afrigo Band, reggae classics, dancehall, Afrobeat and even experiments with amapiano, though they admit some sounds did not survive.
“We tried playing amapiano,” one member says with a laugh. “We retired it because of our audience.”
Still, the group is conscious of the limitations of being boxed into covers.
“We want to take that away from people’s minds,” they say. “We want to have our own music.”
Their original sound, they explain, is a fusion of Afro influences shaped by the same genre-fluid approach that made them popular on stage.
“Abeeka does fusion Afro. We fuse music, and we are still looking for our sound as well.”
The May 2 concert is expected to reflect both identities: the beloved live interpreters of familiar songs and a band trying to establish its own artistic fingerprint. They are keeping the full setlist under wraps, but confirm audiences should expect both covers and originals.
The Copyright Debate
That transition arrives at a time when cover bands in Uganda are under increased scrutiny. As bands have become more commercially viable, often filling venues where solo artists once dominated, questions around copyright and performance rights have intensified.
Some artists have publicly questioned why bands profit from performing songs they did not create. Abeeka says they understand the concern, though they argue that live bands also serve as powerful promotional vehicles.
“Band music has really helped this industry a lot,” one member explains. “There are songs people had forgotten until bands started playing them again. Some artists even ask us, ‘Can you please help me and play it?’”
They admit some musicians have expressed discomfort, mostly through media interviews rather than direct confrontation.
“We hear people complain on TV or in interviews. But if they say, ‘Don’t play our songs,’ of course we won’t.”
Currently, they say, there is no direct system requiring permission for every live performance of a cover song, especially in bar settings. Instead, Uganda’s copyright framework places the responsibility largely on venues.
“The law says the place where a band performs needs a license to either play or perform the music,” they explain. “That means the venue pays for everyone who performs there, whether it is a DJ, karaoke or a live band.”
In that structure, even the original artist performing their own song can still benefit from licensing payments attached to the venue.
If stricter enforcement or new regulations emerge, Abeeka says they are prepared to comply. “If there is a law that says we have to pay or follow a certain system, we shall comply.”
Still, they believe the larger issue is recognition.
“We want to grow to the level where a band is looked at as an artist. Not just ‘it’s a band.’ A band should be respected like an artist.”
That ambition is also being validated commercially.
Abeeka’s rise has attracted partnerships with premium brands like The Singleton and Tusker Malt Lager, who are backing the Roots and Vibes concert. The band says the relationship did not happen by chance.
“It’s something we’ve been craving and praying for for years, to get people around us who can push us,” they say.
They had previously worked with Tusker and built a relationship over time.
“They know what Abeeka Band is capable of doing. They saw it fit because we were matching in terms of energy, and their goals are also spreading out in nightlife.”
That endorsement signals something bigger than sponsorship, it is proof that live bands are now commercially valuable cultural products, not just bar entertainment.
A New Chapter
Abeeka plans for Roots and Vibes to become a recurring property, ideally twice a year depending on audience reception. That ambition mirrors the wider evolution of Uganda’s band culture: from background sound to headline event.
“There was a time when DJs were everything. Then other sounds came. Now it is the band trend,” one member reflects. “People change. Music changes. Maybe tomorrow it will be karaoke. But right now, people love live music.”
For Abeeka, the goal is not to replace artists but to stand among them. And on May 2, as they take the Ndere stage for their first concert, they will be asking Kampala to see them not just as musicians playing other people’s songs, but as artists finally claiming their own stage.