Bruce Melodie shuts down Portland, closes 2023 in style
Sunday, December 31, 2023
Photos of Bruce Melodie's concert in Portland, Maine. All photos by Richard Irakoze.

He is already regarded as Rwanda’s top musician, but Bruce Melodie still wanted to prove his worth to the members of East African Diaspora based in the United States.

The Kanombe-born musician lived up to the bills, closing the year with an electric live performance that sent revelers in Portland, Maine, into a frenzy in a mega concert held at Aura, a renowned sports bar in Portland.

ALSO READ: Bruce Melodie lands in the US ahead of music tour

The manager of Aura told The New Times journalist that the venue has the capacity to accommodate up to 1,400 people, before estimating that the place was at least ‘half-full’ during Saturday night’s show.

Rwandan muisicians Meddy, Emmy, Alpha Rwirangira, Platini, Jamaican singer Gyptian, American music star Ne-Yo, and Uganda’s Sheebah Karungi are among artists who previously performed at the same venue.

In a live performance that lasted two hours, Bruce Melodie showed some energy as he performed most of his hit songs like "Ndakwanga”, "Saa Moya”, "Selebura”, "Katerina”, "Katapila”, "Akinyuma”, "Fou de Toi” (ft Element and Ross Kana) and "When She&039;s Around,” a collaboration with Jamaican music star Shaggy which has been making rounds of headlines in Rwanda and beyond.

The duo performed the song together at various concerts on the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour in the US.

ALSO READ: Bruce Melodie meets Shaggy ahead of US performance

During the show, Melodie revealed one of his new emotional songs which he dedicated to his late mother. The song will be part of the tracklist on his next album.

This Primus Guma Guma Superstar (PGGSS) season 8 winner considers the opportunity to headline a concert in Portland as an achievement in his career.

"We are making history tonight,” he told revelers during his performance.

Concert goers who spoke to The New Times journalist said that they enjoyed Bruce Melodie’s performance to the point that they wanted him to stay on stage for quite more minutes or an extra hour.

Bruce Melodie currently does his music under the 1:55 AM label owned by music guru Gael Karomba, widely known as Coach Gael.

Coach Gael is investing millions of Rwandan francs in Bruce Melodie in an effort to help him push his music to the international scene.