Uproar Over Sauti Sol's 37-Minute Concert Performance
A section of Kenyans expressed displeasure in how the concert went down...
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Popular boy band Sauti Sol was in the middle of criticism for the better part of Sunday, December 18 following their headline performance in the highly-anticipated Sol Fest concert held at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi.
The concert on Saturday night, December 17 saw Tanzanian celebrated musician Harmonize, Norway-based group Matata, Octopizzo, and Nadia Mukami among the many artists from across the continent entertaining fans before the band took over.
A section of Kenyans expressed displeasure in how the concert went down, with some stating that the band took the stage at 3.00 am for a performance lasting 37 minutes.
“We attended the Sol Fest only for us to listen to Afrobeat for a better part of the night and that didn’t feel worth it. Sauti sol got on stage at 3.05 am, gave us a 37 mins performance and left for a break,” multimedia journalist Marvin Gakunyi tweeted his experience at the event.
Fans at the Sol Fest concert on December 17, 2022. /TWITTER.SAUTI SOL
The concert was rated 5/10 in his opinion, praising Braandy Maina, Nadia Mukami and Matata for great performances, with Fena Gitu's being commendable.
"Nviiri The Storyteller entered when sound was having issues and his first few minutes were off. He knew what he came to deliver and got back the energy. He made us sing our hearts out like hopeless romantics.
"My two seconds unsolicited insights is that artists should do their homework and if you charge premium, deliver premium," he addressed.
Gakunyi's sentiments soon led to other fans coming out and criticising the conduct of the boy band during the concert, referring to the previous Sol Fest concert whereby they also delayed in performing in front of their local fans.
“The same issue of Sauti Sol getting on stage late happened at the last Sol Fest. People had to boo for them to come on stage.
"I hoped this would be corrected this year but it seems 13 minutes performance at 3 am it is!” Kavutha Mutua tweeted.
"Last year Sauti Sol threw the concert of the year. We went yesterday expecting a repeat or even better, then they did the worst organized concert ever. They didn’t follow the schedule, Bensoul didn’t even sing," Shad Khalif weighed in.
In an attempt to diffuse the situation, one of its band members Savara, born Delvin Mudigi, complained that Sauti Sol was turned into a punching bag in an early morning tweet on Monday, December 19, but that only worsened the situation. A section of fans had complained that they felt cheated given that they had begun streaming to the venue as early as 4 pm.
It is worth it to note that the concert came two days to the day that the band had cancelled its much-awaited ‘Sol Saturday’ concert in the eleventh hour in 2020, leaving many fans across the country disappointed.
“To our fans…We regret to inform you that we shall not be performing at today’s scheduled “Sol Saturday” event. Although we deeply desire to give you a marvellous show, we cannot in good conscience assure your health and safety which is our highest priority.
“We were recently made aware that the event size doesn’t comply with Kenyan covid-19 protocols and regulations. Together with the promoters Tukutane entertainment limited and Masshouse group limited, we tried hard to mitigate the situation, however, we could not come to an agreement on the best way forward,” read part of the statement at the time.
Sauti Sol pointed out that it would be reckless of them to hold such an event due to the rising number of Covid-19 infections and deaths in the country then.
However, Roya Okanga, the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Kari's Kitchen, claimed that Sauti Sol called off the concert because they did not like the setup of the stage and not because of Covid-19 as they had earlier explained.
The young lady went on to call upon the Suzanna hit-makers to tell Kenyans the truth about why they cancelled their concert and stop hiding behind the Coronavirus pandemic.
“… the organizers tried to negotiate with these guys till 3 or 4 in the morning because nobody could sleep. How do you even sleep without knowing the fate of the concert? it was so much disrespect, how dare you at 9 pm start threatening people that you will not be performing?
"In the morning, three hours before the event you post saying you will not perform due to Covid. Lying to people…people had spent money to come to see you and then you cancel at the eleventh hour…if you could have said this like on a Wednesday it could have been better," she explained.
She added that the band members were invited for a walk-through of the stage and the setup prior to the event but they did not show up and had eventually shown up the day before the concert to complain about the stage set-up.
