A night of a thousand body twist and turns

Talk of electric performance and the definition is Mahogany Jones-Live Band. The four-piece band comprising of Mahogany Jones, team leader and lead singer, Roslyn Welch, Déjà Sean Blu and an energetic Lauren Johnson on the drum, thrilled their Rwandan fans on Friday evening at Petit Stade in Kigali.The U.S based band performed for several hours leaving the crowd yearning for more. By 4 p.m, the stage was already set for the big gig with technicians trying to ensure everything was perfect and the show successful.Prior to the performance, the Mahogany band members mingled freely with the swelling crowd and one could hardly differentiate them from the rest if the crowd, save for their African- American accent. As daylight succumbed to darkness, so did the crowd increase in size. The security detail was also well articulated with the police at hand to watch out for any trouble.The event began with a welcome note from Susan Falatko, the Public Affairs Officer at the U.S embassy in Rwanda, who thanked music lovers for turning up to cheer up the American band.“I want to welcome each one of you and hope we share a language of music and a message of self esteem.” Falatko told the crowd before wishing them a great night of entertainment.The curtain raisers were local artistes and as the pages of the night flapped open, the story of the night became richer. There were several performances by local artistes including young rapper Babou, who eventually handed over the microphone to the night’s main performer Mahogany.The pace changed and a wave of entertainment rented the room in a fresh way, as revellers cheered and danced uncontrollably.Others were looking for their steps as they lost the beat of the music. The tall lady in jungle green dress, orange boob top and some colourful stilettos moved swiftly and it was a real showcase of America’s talent on the Rwandan stage.The songs had a range of thematic concerns but notably, the place of women in t society. “Women are not sexual objects, they are more than their boobs, if you don’t respect life then you don’t respect a woman,” those were the lyrics of one of the songs the band played out.As the performance intensified, the crowd enjoyed even more, everyone swaying to the musical melodies of the band and as the four-some wound up their act, there was a sense of satisfaction in the audience. “The State Department did every thing to have such events across the world. They have performed better than they did in the American root competition to emerge top twelve out of 300 groups in America,” said Jeremy, from the American Music Abroad program. Mahogany, a teacher by profession, told The New Times that she designed the group when the opportunity presented itself. “I finally fulfilled my childhood dream of coming to Africa where I trace my roots. I hope to establish a school of art on in the continent soon.” The Hip-hop songbird called on young women to know their worth and aspire to fulfil their potential without anyone undermining them. “You should learn to change things and know your values and power, and use the same to work alongside men,” observed Jones. The show ended at 9 p.m. Rwanda was the fourth country to tour after Zambia, Botswana and Uganda. The band’s African tour ends in Ethiopia.

Leisure

A night of a thousand body twist and turns