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It would be the grand opening weekend to a big showbiz season, what with Rema and Lauryn Hill in town? When the weekend ended, however, underwhelmed show-goers had little to talk about.
Over the past few years, the party scene has witnessed a surge in popularity, with a growing number of international artistes performing.
While these events have undoubtedly brought excitement and a global touch to the local entertainment industry, the question remains: Are Kenyan partygoers and event promoters truly ready for the challenges and expectations associated with hosting international acts?
After weeks of hype and getting Pulsers all worked up, the big day finally came on Saturday as gates to Laureate Gardens, Nairobi, were officially opened.
Bringing international celebrities including Nigeria’s Rema, UK’s ArrDee and the iconic American artiste Lauryn Hill into the country, it was a promising fete that was bound to be one for the books.
The festival was expected to be a major highlight of the year. However, the challenges encountered led to widespread disappointment.
The hit
On the inaugural day the day kicked off with a series of energetic performances from local acts, setting the stage for the headlining international stars such as Nigeria’s Rema. Despite the commotion, Rema delivered an energetic set, treating the crowd to hits like ‘Beamer’, ‘Benin’, ‘Boys’ and ‘Troublemaker’.
Rising UK rapper Arrdee also impressed hip-hop lovers with his set, while Kenya’s Bien, joined by Bensoul, electrified the stage.
As the night progressed, the energy in the crowd reached a fever pitch and the security personnel would be later overwhelmed by the surging numbers creating a chaotic atmosphere.
Fans were outraged, flooding social media with complaints and sharing their negative experiences of the poorly organised event.
“Based on learnings and feedback from day one, our team has implemented additional security and crowd management measures to ensure today runs even more smoothly,” the organisers of the show gave a statement assuring attendees that their security was okay for the second day.
The miss
Fast forward to Sunday, and things were not any better either. First, there was heavy rainfall. And then there were technical issues.
Nyashinski was a no-show while headliner Lauryn Hill finally appeared on stage at around 3am on Monday, unfortunately, after many attendees had already begun to leave.
Well, her set was also disrupted a couple of times and you could see how disappointed she was on stage, the iconic singer took to the stage with her signature blend of soul, R&B, and hip-hop, captivating the audience with her powerful vocals and stage presence.
Earlier in the day, East African Breweries Limited (EABL), the event organisers, issued a statement citing “unforeseen technical challenges” and promised to resolve them. They pushed the start time to 8:30 p.m., with gates opening at 8pm, while apologising for the delays.
“We deeply regret any inconvenience this may cause and sincerely apologize for the delay,” read the statement from EABL.
In efforts to simmer down the backlash, they also sent a statement of apology to all affected, with promises of refunding 100 per cent to Day Two ticket holders.
Apology and a refund
“We sincerely apologize to all our valued festival goers, suppliers, artistes, and stakeholders for the disruptions experienced during day two of the WalkerTown festival. In light of these circumstances, we will be issuing a 100% refund to all ticket holders for Day Two of the WalkerTown 2024 Festival within the next two weeks. This is a reflection of our commitment to fairness and respect for the trust you placed in us,” read the statement.
“Despite our best efforts, unforeseen technical challenges—particularly due to the rain and other conditions—affected our sound system, causing significant delays. This resulted in the delayed performance by Miss Lauryn Hill and, regrettably, the cancellation of our brand partner Nyashinski’s performance, which deeply impacted the overall festival experience,” stated the organisers.
In a statement shared on an Instagram story post, Nyashinski later expressed deep regret for not being able to perform, despite being present at the event and ready to take the stage.
“Greetings, my people. I truly appreciate you for paying your hard-earned money & braving the harsh weather to come and see me perform. We work our hardest to give you an amazing performance, worth your time and money,” he said.
On top of that, the soundcheck was not fully completed until hours later. However, it wasn’t just the concertgoers that were voicing their frustrations on Twitter. Residents close to the festivities were not too happy about the fireworks show that still went on after Lauryn’s time on stage at 5am.
The highly anticipated Walker Town Festival ultimately fell short of expectations, leaving many attendees feeling disappointed and frustrated while others complained about ticketing on the second day.
“There are several factors can that can contribute to the failure of a concert, even with a strong lineup and a dedicated audience, as an organiser, you should never overlook even the simplest of the matters,” advises Jay Bosire, an events organiser.
A chance at redemption?
Come this Sunday, all roads still lead to the same venue for the Blankets & Wine October edition and we caught up with MDQ.
“From our perspective as GoodTimes Africa, if you’d like to organise a proper concert and ensure it runs smoothly you require a combination of thorough planning, sufficient staffing, correct risk assessment with inbuilt redundancy and trustworthy executors,” says Muthoni Ndong’a, Founder GoodTimes Africa the production company behind the Blankets and Wine East Africa music festival.
Well, Walker Town festival is not the only event that has flopped before. A couple of high-ranking musical concerts have seen ‘dust’ time and again and this shows that curating a large-scale concert is not a walk in the park.
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