Koroga Festival Bigger, Better and Bolder with Koffi Olomide

The March 2016 (11th) edition of the Koroga Festival will definitely go down in history as the most epic. Koroga Festival is a bi-monthly music festival by Capital FM. When I heard that Koffi Olomide would be headlining, I was beside myself with excitement. Koffi Olomide is one of the best acts on the continent and has been for decades. Best known as the King of Rhumba, specifically of its cousin Soukous, he alongside his band Quartier Latin, is also one of the most recognizable African musicians. I honestly can’t think of anyone I know, including my grandparents, that doesn’t know who he is. It was therefore no surprise when it was announced that there would be no tickets sold at the door as the show was sold out.

I am somewhat a Koroga veteran, having attended almost all the editions, so I know that the best time to arrive is usually around 2pm. Unfortunately, I had to run some errands and ended up getting there around 3pm. As always, there was traffic at the Arboretum entrance with everyone trying to find parking. Getting to the entrance however, I immediately realized that this was no ordinary edition. There were three security checks and ‘no firearms allowed’ signs (I had no idea you kids bring firearms to music festivals) as well as a noticeable presence of policemen. Usually they just have one check and I’ve never seen the firearms sign. Suffice to say, I appreciated the extra security as I felt much safer. That is definitely something they should keep up in all their editions.

It was packed. I always get space at the front but this time I had to settle for somewhere in the middle. The organizers put up a barricade (it’s Koffi after all) so I couldn’t stand on the side to get a better view of the stage. Thankfully, they’d put up plenty of screens so everyone could get a good view. The opening acts were Makadem and Gogosimo Band. I missed both opening acts, which I was sad about but I’ve seen both of them in concert before and will probably catch them in another one soon. Besides, if I’ll be completely frank, I’d come to see Koffi. He’s been to Kenya before, with his last concert being a decade ago, but I’d never seen him in concert and was really looking forward to ticking that off my list.

The atmosphere at Arboretum was electric. DJ Joe Mfalme did a fantastic job on the decks warming up the crowd for Koffi. He played an African music set featuring Kenyan music throwbacks, hits from Koffi’s extensive catalogue as well as popular contemporary hits from the continent. After an ecstatic countdown, ‘Le Grand Mopao’ finally got on stage to a eardrum bursting reception. Stylishly dressed in all black, Koffi put on a 2 hour show that reminded everyone why exactly he’s still considered one of the greatest entertainers on the continent even at the age of 59 and soundly put to bed any sentiments that he’s ‘washed up’ or a ‘has been’.

I can’t pick what I enjoyed most; there were so many delicious moments. Koffi has the x factor and kept the audience hanging onto his every word. His dancers were amazing, doing mesmerizing things with their waists. (I have to mention that it was liberating to see his female dancers in crop tops and doing their thing not giving a hoot about eurocentric standards of body perfection.) Kanda King and his son joined his dancers on stage for a dance interlude and killed it. Koffi performed most of his hits including ‘Loi’ and ‘Ultimatum’ as well as his latest track ‘Selfie’. He also performed ‘Skol’ with the talented songbird Cindy le Coeur. I forgot my white handkerchief but I had pocket tissues and so I waved that instead and gave my waist a good workout.

This was hands-down the best Koroga edition, which is saying a lot considering Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Mi Casa, Papa Wemba, Ali Kiba among others have been headliners. The ambiance was excellent, music fantastic and there was just a general feeling that it was a well-organized event. The only things I hope the organizing team can look to improve on is a wider selection of drinks at the bar and an increase in the number of washrooms. Otherwise, Koroga is a shining star that keeps getting brighter on the Kenyan festival circuit and I can’t wait to see who will be the headliner for the next one.