This Saturday, August 22, R&B singer Social Mula will be next to headline the ongoing Iwacu Muzika Festival, an opportunity for him to return to the stage after a long time. The “Ma Vie” singer, real names Lambert Mugwaneza, last had a performance six months ago during a concert he, rapper Riderman and fast-rising female singer Marina performed in for the Rwandan community in Brussels, Belgium back in February. Since then, Social Mula, like other local artistes, has seen his performance calendar thwarted by the New Coronavirus outbreak which saw the government announce a temporary ban on concerts, festivals and all public gatherings since March, as part of the measures to curb the spread of the new coronavirus pandemic virus. Upon being confirmed to grace the festival, which will air on Rwanda Television (RTV) this Saturday, Social Mula told The New Times that he is ready to put all the situation behind and deliver a good performance to keep his fans entertained while at home. “I can’t call it a blank year for us artists at all because we have been in studios recording new songs while we were also using our voice in contributing to the national drive to sensitize Rwandans on to avoid the spread of COVID-19,” Social Mula said in reference to how the music industry responded to the pandemic. “I rehearsed enough with my band and I am ready to use this chance to entertain my people,” the “Ndiho” star said. Social Mula said it is a pleasure to be on the music stage again, performing before music lovers, though they will only be able to follow his performance on TVs as opposed to previous festivals and concerts he had performed at. “It is not easy to perform before empty seats, without an audience to interact with face-to-face. I am happy that the festival organisers believed in me and I am ready to prove my worth during the show. I really have a good performance package that no one should afford to miss,” he said in an interview. The singer, 27, said the new coronavirus has never made artists’ life easy since they could not link up with their fans at concerts since the first case of the pandemic was recorded in Rwanda in mid-March. “We have missed out on a number of concerts and our supporters also missed out on our performances because of the pandemic. We can’t change anything but as long as we stick to precautionary rules to avoid the spread of the pandemic, I am confident we will meet our fans and enjoy the show together again,” he said. “Warakoze”, “Ku Ndunduro”, “Mu Buroko” and “Abanyakigali” are among the songs that music fans are expecting from the singer’s one-hour performance. The show will air on RTV, today from 8: 45pm. Be sure to catch it. Iwacu Muzika Festival is organised by East African Promoters (EAP), in partnership with the Ministry of Youth and Culture, and ArtRwanda - Ubuhanzi among other partners, to promote Rwandan music by bringing together different artistes in their respective age brackets on the same stage. Through the partnership, a number of rising artistes in different categories are given a chance to show their talent before the festival’s main headliners perform. Photographer Yves Abatangana, fashion designer Emmanuel Kezem and singer Lorena are among new talents on the block who will share the stage with Social Mula.
