A Series of Unfortunate Events
Okay, call me poor but, what in Nabii’s government are these ticket prices y'all throwing around, brethren? Dealers choice, kweli? I know the Kenyan Shilling is losing against the US Dollar, but ain’t no way boy.
To be honest, I have had this conversation with a couple of event promoters, asking these questions to try and comprehend their position on the matter. For further understanding, I took it upon myself to attend a number of events in the year 2024, just for research purposes and hear me out church, the devil strides and strobes among us. We don’t even have a long way to go, we gotta change direction and go back to Okterberfest 2019.
Wakadinali.
The Eastlando Rap trio has been making regular appearances at Oktoberfest.
You see, since the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a slow but absolute paradigm shift in power in every sector of the Kenyan creative scene. From content creation, music, film, blogging, and, to our shock, event organising,. There has been an emergence of new players, particularly vibrant Gen Z players who have art at heart and are full of new ideas; but are backed by old dogs who have not only refused to learn new tricks but instead are teaching the new dogs old tricks. This is paradoxical, right?
To their credit, we have had new artists, new locations, new A&Rs, and a whole set on NEW. However, we still have events with the same old problems: rinsed lineups, monotonous perfomances, and diabolical ticket prices. In short, the more things have changed, the more they’ve remained the same.
So what exactly are you blabbering about, Bervon? You may ask, but I counter myself with the same question at these events, holding my whitecap at the corner, judging the organisers instead of “having a good time.” Before we get started, let me say that my concerns are highly relative because of where I grew up and my guardians' financial situation. Perhaps I am too village for this, or perhaps I am ignorant of the situation, or both. However, you may wonder why I feel like I am better poised to complain. It’s because first, I want to, and most predominantly, I can.
To begin with, their exists a certain clique mentality in the current event scene; it’s the same people organising the same artists to sing at the same events. Either it’s because y'all hang out at Molly’s after performing somewhere in Westie or your artist managers went to Kenya High together, but I could bet my balls it’s one of the two. You attend five of these events in a month, and it’s like the same experience, the same people, and, worst of all, the same songs. These new-age artists are doing great music, alright, but why would you do the same set over and over without releasing new music? All these new-age events do is change venues every weekend, invite the same artists, charge Ksh1500, and wrap it up. A message from the haters headquarters though: they are saying you all have the same kind of music style, if I attend an Okello Max performance, I have already watched Coaster Ojwang, Charisma, Watendawili, and all the other cronies. I honestly have nothing to say about that. Like Pontious Pilate, while secretly sentencing Jesus while releasing Barabbas the thief, I wash my hands.
I understand the “Industry has to stick together”, you gotta support your own and all that gba gbos but, do we really need four events in a month with Njerae, Njeri, Nkatha, Kinoti and Okello Max singing the same five songs every Saturday? Come on bro. I’d pay top dollar to listen to Njerae every day, but that’s because I’m obsessed with her music; what about those that I am not? Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying artists should decline bookings or event promoters should not book these kinds of artists; no, just find a middle somewhere or go sing those songs in Nakuru and bring us Nakuru artists for a change. Tell them to release new music, not repeating sets bar for bar, bro I recorded your performance last week; I could have just stayed at home and watched that.
A normal outdoor performance in Nairobi takes place somewhere along Ngong Road, featuring a makeshift stage constructed from six pallets lit up like a Christmas tree, two Kenwood speakers, and a guitar. I can’t pay 1500 twice for this shit, only to hear Kinoti and Ayrosh for 2 hours and then we leave by 10pm for Mollys? Events used to pull all-nighters for that kind of money; now it’s just technicalities: start at 7 p.m., end at 10 p.m., and just like that $13 is gone. Again, call me poor if you so please
The highs and lows at Ngong Racecourse and Uhuru Garden are particularly difficult to imagine and to bemoan. Atleast they still hold the sherehe culture of pulling all-nighters, but I ain’t paying 6 large to hear Oluwa David sing, that’s 4k less than a season ticket for MDQ’s B&W.
Make it stand out
Season Ticket for B&W
Indoor performances, more often than not, are artist showcases; most are free, some are not, but that’s besides the point. As a frequent at the Fanisi Experiements at Geco, Ankole Grill, and the Beer District, I’d say mad respect for the people behind these live performance curations. I am super happy to spend a quiet event at Fanisi Geco or the Nakili sessions listening to band-backed Breeder LW, Katapilla, Dyana Cods, Jemedari's, and We Are Nubia, just to name four. This is what the culture is all about; if you’re going to ask for $5 a beer, at least let me in for free. I attended a Jadi performance at the #7 joint in town, and it was electrifying—a pint of beer while seeing artists give their fans their all. With all the joints in town giving artists a chance to showcase their art, I wish I could fist bump a whole bar.
According to Ludwig Krapf, Africans were an ignorant representation of the human hierachy; maybe that's what I am, or I haven’t seen the real Nairobi scenes, but one thing is for sure: these are not just my independent thoughts; I have sought relevant counsel on the subject matter. The event experience is slim nowadays: same artists, same 4 songs, same stage set up, and overpriced tickets.
