Live music lovers in Kigali will this Friday, be in for a special treat as over 10 local bands begin tussling it out in the ‘Battle of the Bands’ series at the Kigali Marriott Hotel. In its second edition, Battle of the Bands, is in an initiative that aims at boosting the entertainment in Kigali and promote the visibility of local bands by showcasing their music. “There is a lot of vibrancy, art and we have many creative people around, so the main objective as Kigali Marriott is to boost creativity. We are in the hospitality industry, and while taking care of our guests is good, finding talent to provide this entertainment is even better. So this battle of the bands is like opening new horizons to the entertainment industry in Rwanda; we have many talents out there,” Victoria N. Obiakor, the director of sales and marketing at the Hotel explained. Unlike last year’s edition that was held for one day, this year’s competition will be progressive, as the bands were required to sign up via the hotel’s social media platforms, and if qualified they will be invited for a showdown, beginning this Friday with two of the bands. Votes will be based on the public opinion and the popular vote gets to go on the next stage. Battle of the Bands, will have a weekly series of elimination exercise determined by the public vote, till November. The winning band will then be taken on by the hotel as the resident band, the opening band for Kigali Marriott’s New Year’s act, as well as get a recording session with Made Beats studios by IGIHE. Last year, Neptunez Band beat other three bands that participated in the contest, winning themselves a one-year contract as the hotel’s resident band, performing every Thursday night at the hotel’s Iriba Bar and Terrace. According to Remmy Lubega the founder of Neptunez Band, the competition, helped the band in terms of talent realization and gauging their band with the other bands in terms of strengths and weaknesses. “If you don’t have competitive levels you get too comfortable in your own performances. The platform is a good initiative in bringing together bands, not just to compete but to learn from each other because usually all the bands perform on the same day, at different locations around the city so it’s not really possible to see how other bands perform. The platform helps gauge yourself as a band and revisit how you can improve performances,” he said. The platform, he added, has contributed in broadening their visibility, therefore more opportunities in terms of business opportunities. Mico Marcel, founder of Mico Band added that the initiative was ‘fantastic opportunity’ for up and coming bands to not only get noticed but also build themselves professionally. “The competition was an opportunity to perform before a different audience and it challenged us to preform professionally and as a result, we currently have three songs that will soon be released,” he said. The battle of the bands series will be weekly at the hotel’s Iriba bar and Terrace, no entrance fee will be charged making it possible for all music lovers to enjoy an evening of live music as they decide who their favorite act is for the evening. editor@newtimesrwanda.com
