WINDHOEK – On Saturday, Namibian entertainment heads, who have been complaining about the local entertainment scene being stale, got the shock of their lives when MTC’s 081EVERY1 Festival came to town.
Despite little moans and groans over the small, far-away stage and the sound that – according to some – was not up to par, all the selected repertoire of artist brought their A-game.
Davido has always brought nearly superhuman levels of energy to his shows, but last night’s delivery stands as one of his greatest and most thrilling – if not intimidating. It is still not clear as to whether or not the Nigerian megastar had a planned set list. Well, if he did, he somehow shredded that thing and seemingly collected request bearing signs from the crowd that sang along to each and every hit – albeit sometimes in their own way. The pint sized muso had enough guts to defy the orders of his bodyguards and tear through the crowd, for a much closer encounter. But of course, having left most of his valuables on stage.
As was expected, Namibia’s award winning kwaito king took to the stage and did not cease to amaze. Gazza proved once again that he is a force of nature whose well-crafted beats and slick vocal deliveries brought the house down. As usual, his set list comprised of only potent originals.
On his part, South African hit maker Heavy K, real name Mkhululi Siqula did not disappoint. The beat specialist swaggered on stage and proved that he is still the drumboss.
If anything, Runtown’s performance may have rocked a couple of relationships. From the moment that the Nigerian singer, songwriter – real name, Douglas Jack Agu, took to the stage, his vocals were somewhat eclipsed by that of the bevy of women screaming out his name.
It goes without saying that, the girl power in both Busiswa and Sally Moss Madam carried that day. The ladies proved that they are incredibly, well-oiled machines, and they know exactly what their audience wants to hear and see.
All things considered, the 081EVERY1 Fest was well worth every buck. Even though some patrons had a major issue with the locality of the food and beverages stall, from the stage.
“They should have located that stall a bit further from the stage,” one of the patrons moaned. While some of the muso took their VIP status very serious, others – like Heavy K – mingled freely with the commoners within the VVIP and VIP area.
There is an inclusive aspect to the show that is exhilarating,” said another patron.