US-based Rwandan singer Benjamin Mugisha, mostly known by his stage name, The Ben, has been confirmed as the main headliner for the upcoming New Year’s East African Party slated for January 1, 2020 at the Kigali Arena. The annual entertainment event is organised every January 1 by East African Promoters, and will see The Ben perform live alongside other six local music super stars, including King James, Riderman, Andy Bumuntu and Knowless Butera, while the rest of the lineup will be revealed by Thursday. Joseph Mushyoma, the brains behind the concert explained to The New Times that this year’s concert will be different, not only in the lineup made of only local artistes but will also be a celebration of Rwanda’s vision 2020 achievements. “We, the East African Promoters, are proud to be part of what our country has achieved so far. While celebrating the milestones as a whole, we are sincerely happy that we played a commendable part in supporting the development of Rwandan music and this gives us a reason to celebrate,” he said. Mushyoma revealed that they will not be hosting any foreign artiste this year as they used to because they wanted to give special credit to Rwandan music by organising a concert that brings only Rwandan artistes on the same stage. “We wanted to give the fete a pure Rwandan context. I guess it is going to be the very first big show whereby only local artistes can perform at the Kigali Arena, because it is a venue that was primarily built for them,” he said. For Mushyoma, the country’s vision 2020 was a journey during which much has been said about Rwanda, targets achieved and music was not left behind. The concert for him therefore, is an opportunity to celebrate what the entertainment industry has achieved. “We want at the same time to assess how far our artistes have gone and where they are now. If you look at where we have been twelve years ago, we started preparing stages where our artistes have been performing under a one-light stage and here we are. Artistes are now performing at a stage with international standards at Kigali Arena. It is really a milestone that we must celebrate and we need music lovers to join us and celebrate the vision 2020 in style,” he said. Tickets for the concerts will be on sale from December 20. Early birds tickets will go for Rwf3, 000 for regulars, Rwf10, 000 for VIP and Rwf15, 000 in the VVIP zone while buying a ticket at the gate will go for Rwf5, 000 for regulars, Rwf15, 000 for VIP tickets and Rwf20, 000 in the VVIP zone.
