At the beginning of December, Christine Gakuba was a happy reveler who had secured a ticket to Travis Greene’s concert that was scheduled to take place on December 8, but later got cancelled after event organisers failed to purchase plane tickets for Travis and his team. After only two weeks, Gakuba also became a victim of Diamond Platnumz' cancelled show over poor organisation, turning her dream festive season in Kigali into the most boring one. She’s afraid of buying another concert ticket in Rwanda. This, according to Gakuba, is what’s stopping revelers to turn up for music concerts as well as other entertainment events, and the problem relies on event promoters and organizers who have failed to take event management classes. From Travis Greene, to Diamond Platnumz’ concert that got cancelled a few hours to the show, and Maphorisa’s absence in the recent edition of Intore Sundays, one cannot deny the fact that revelers are tired. Where is the problem? Favouring foreign artistes is slowing the growth of Rwandan music Music in Rwanda has grown to tremendous levels with everyone struggling to get a piece of this pie, and among the things that generate revenues for artistes and different players in Rwanda’s music industry, events and festivals remain at the top. Now that the industry is flooded with upcoming artists and established personalities, performing live at a concert is a goal for every Rwandan musician and most of them have been denied this act by local promoters while others never receive payments after performing. Kenny Sol’s last year saga with East Gold promoters pointed out some of the problems Rwandan artistes, especially newcomers, face backstage. “Last night proved yet again how promoters are savagely willing to use the artists for their own gains. East Gold, how do you expect to sell my image without paying me? Did you think I am that naïve?” Kenny Sol said in an open letter released on 7 August 202, after being denied to perform at the Rebirth Celebration concert organized by East Gold which is also behind Diamond Platnumz cancelled show. Speaking to The New Times, Kenny Sol said that giving a platform and respecting Rwandan musicians is something that local promoters should look into for both sectors to grow. Recently, East African Promoters (EAP), one of the leading event management companies, became the first to ban foreign musicians from headlining their events, a move that was highly welcomed by many Rwandan music lovers. “No more foreign headliners at East African Party,” said Joseph Mushyoma, CEO of EAP, at a presser held on December 15, 2022 in Kigali. The event, held on January 1 and headlined by only Rwandan artistes, became one of the most successful shows staged in Kigali since the outbreak of covid-19 pandemic, a move that shows how Rwandan artistes are capable of putting up a good show without foreign musicians. Also Read: IN PICTURES: What you missed at East African Party Poor organization and marketing remains a fatal problem in local events Among the things killing local events and increasing their cancellation, weak marketing and organization that leads to insufficient attendance comes at the top, according to Miguel Manzi, a music expert and reviewer. Another thing, Manzi believes, if the event is not financially viable (not enough sponsors) it will most likely lead to its cancellation as it was seen in the previous months. Both Travis and Diamond Platnumz’ events were cancelled as a result of poor management from the organising team. “Cancelling concerts, not paying artistes, poor organization and everything that leaves revelers not impressed after buying tickets should stay in 2022. Promoters can do better,” said Manzi.
