The Kigali Jazz Junction, one of the popular events in the country on Friday celebrated its fourth anniversary with a massive show at the Kigali Exhibition Village.
The event saw a number of artists from the region come on stage to entertain a packed crowd. Rwanda’s very own maestro Amalon, Kenyan Nyashiski and South African music maestro Zahara were the performers of the night.
Whereas it was Zahara’s second time at the event, after headlining last year’s edition, it was the first for Nyashiski and Amalon
South African jazz maestro Zahara gets emotional during her performance on Friday. / Craish Bahizi
The event which was supposed to start 8pm was delayed as more revelers trickled in.
At around 9pm, Rwandan comedian and popular radio presenter Arthur Nkusi who was also the MC for the night stepped on stage and thanked everyone for having come through and assured them of having a wonderful evening as the crowd went into a frenzy.
He asked the crowd to join him as he welcomed Amalon on stage. The audience was electrified as he is now one of the most promising artists on the Rwandan music scene.
Amalon entertains revelers at the Kigali Exhibition Village. / Craish Bahizi
He did a number of his songs with the last one ‘Byakubaho’ the most popular as everyone in the audience sang along.
Amalon later made way and Nyanshiski took over. To the surprise of many members of the audience, Nyanshiski is not a new on the music scene as many people imagined.
‘I didn’t know that it’s Nyashiski who did ‘Bad boy’ with Amani,’’ said one reveler to her friend. ‘Bad boy is a 2007 hit that Nyashiski did with fellow Kenyan Amani. Nyashiski had a good performance as the crowd shouted and sang along throughout the show.
Kenyan artiste Nyashinski, whose real name is Nyamari Ongegu was the headline act on Friday. / Craish Bahizi
Before the show climaxed, South African Zahara came on stage and thanked her fans for the love. ‘’Thanks for bringing me back to Kigali. I think I should just get a house here and become a resident,” she teased her fans before performing.
Her amazing voice and energetic dance moves excited the fans even though they could hardly understand what she meant. She did a couple of songs including Thembalam, Ndiza and one that’s popular among Rwandans, Lilowe.
editor@newtimesrwanda.com