Organizers are busy preparing for the third installment of KigaliUp, which is slated to run on July 13-14 outside Amahoro National Stadium, reports In2EastAfrica.
“The KigaliUp team has been working hard for the last month to bring the best in worlds of music and services to Rwanda,” said Nelson Gashagaza, an event planner. “Most importantly, we have improved the sound system and the venue will be family friendly.”
Stars expected to perform include: Habib Koite and Bamada from Mali, MA IA from Kenya, Joey Blake from USA, Tony Osanah from Argentina, Canada-based Rwandan musician Nicole Musoni, and Lion Story from Burundi. Local musicians also making an appearance include: Jay Polly, Gaby, Shanel, Makanyaga, Ikobe, Safa Papy John, Mani Martin, Dreamboys, Rafiki, Riderman, and Liza Kamikazi.
According to Nelson Gashagaza, one of the organisers, the KigaliUp team is working tooth and nail to ensure that the festival goes as planned. “Most importantly we have improved the sound system and the venue will be family friendly,” Gashagaza said of the festival which for the second time will be held outside Amahoro National Stadium.
He added that KigaliUp 2013 will be only live while it will focus mainly on improving and empowering artistes through workshops and culture exchange.
“I am happy also to announce that some headline artistes are already here and others are planned to fly in next week,” Gashagaza says.
Apart from a variety of music ranging from Hip-hop, Afrobeat, Blues, Rumba, Funk and Reggae, this year’s festival will also boast of two live stages, a family zone, a beer garden, lots of food as well as arts and crafts stalls.
The festival aims at enhancing the local music industry by training sound and stage technicians while helping emerging local artistes advance their careers; develop high quality recordings, stage plots and marketing materials.
It is the first national music festival in Rwanda that promotes its own artistes, artisans and businesses.
The first edition of KigaliUp festival on September 10, 2011, in Kimihurura Park, was a groundbreaking event that featured over 30 artistes from Rwanda, East Africa, Canada and France performing on two stages to a diverse audience of more than 2500 people.