Ali Kiba headlined the 15th edition of Blankets and Wine held at its new home, Lugogo Cricket Oval. Jemimah Sanyu, Giovanni Kiyingi, The Mith and DJ Naselow completed the lineup.
Two things stood out; it rained for the second time in a row since the picnic-style event was moved to its new home but, most importantly, all the performances were live.
If the all-live performance is maintained, the organisers, House of DJs together with Tusker Malt, have many more successful editions ahead. Jemimah the Stage Gladiator opened the day with her signature energetic performance. Kiyingi returned to the show having performed through the rain at the previous edition.
Tom Mayanja aka The Mith also put up an awesome performance. He proved why he was awarded Lyricist of the Year at the recently-concluded UG Hip Hop awards. He performed with a live band while being backed up by Martha Smalls of Airport Taxi.
Ali Kiba, the headline act, is one of the continent’s trending acts and that is not by chance. He is a performer. He is a ladies’ man. He made sure he had the audience in the palm of his hand throughout his performance.
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Whether he was performing Mwana, Nisamehe or Namzimia, there was a section of the crowd singing along and fans matching his dance steps. Opening with Cinderella was a great choice given that it is one of his most popular songs.
Ali Kiba then took fans through a series of songs, mostly done in Kiswahili a language many may not know or speak fluently, but given that music is a universal language, the audience went with the flow.
He was backed up by part of Qwela band with the likes of MoRoots on keyboards, Charmant Mushaga playing lead guitar, Roy Kasika on drums while Joe Kahiri played the percussions.
His two dancers never left the stage and he joined them from time to time, soaking his shirt in sweat before retreating for a quick break. The return was explosive as he performed his hit songs including Unconditionally Bae done with Sauti Sol.
He requested some ladies from the audience to join him on Chekecha Cheketua and it was a moment of madness on the stage. He performed the most anticipated song of the night, Aje around 10pm sending the audience into frenzy before wrapping up a night of wonderful live performances.
DJ Naselow took over and played till around midnight.
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