Multiple award-winning group, Sauti Sol, will embark on the ‘Live and Die in Afrika’ countrywide tour this Saturday. Described as the biggest traveling music tour that Kenya has ever seen, the tour kicked off in Nairobi in February with the launch of their third album – Live and die in Afrika – and they are to proceed to major towns in the country. These towns include Nakuru, Eldoret, Kisumu, Meru and Mombasa.
The ‘Live and Die in Afrika’ countrywide tour kicks off with the group pitching tent at the Nakuru Athletics club this Saturday, the 16th of April. This is the band’s first performance in the town after almost three years and they are set to deliver a world-class show that the town will never forget.
This is also the first ever musical tour of its kind in Kenya. At a press briefing, the band said: “After touring for many years in several countries and getting the opportunity to watch some groundbreaking performances, the band wants to bring that experience to Kenyan soil. Performance is everything; it’s not just about the band getting on stage to sing, it’s a whole new experience with dancers, a live band, co-ordination of the lights, managing the sound etc. That’s what we want to bring to the tour, not just three acts of our most popular songs but a world-quality performance.
Marek Fuchs, Sauti Sol’s band manager added: “This is the first time there is a well-organized, full-own show of this magnitude in Kenya that is also well advertised ahead. There is a huge undertaking to be able to manage this quality of a show out to the towns that we have slated the tour for. Often times when international acts come to Kenya, they mostly perform either in Nairobi or Mombasa so the music and the experience of the tour will offer a mega show not just a sort of a club gig. We want to take our music back to the people in the same show quality as the shows in the United States.”
One of the main reasons for the tour is to make people talk about Kenyan music in the country and make other people want to listen to their music as they come to Kenya. The band also said that what artists give to their audience is all they will ever know. If you give them a bad show with bad packaging, especially in other towns in the country that don’t get to experience good quality shows, then what you give is what they will ever know.
Sauti Sol also said that it is high time musicians invested in themselves and took like 60 people on tour – working on one project-all over the country. That’s what international artists do to make a name for themselves. Giving their all.
Savara Mudigi, one of the band’s members said: “Sometimes an idea, for example the idea of a song or a piece of art, has to go through a transformation. From the thought of the song in your mind to the execution of the message the song is to portray; that’s exactly how it’s going to be in the tour. Imagine over 90 people working on the stage, from the lighting to the band, we want to deliver the full package of a one of a kind experience. For a track like Nerea for example, the lighting and graphics on stage has to be correct such that when someone hears the song, they also get to feel the message of the song.”
The concert will be followed by a show in Eldoret at the Eldoret Sports Club on the 23rd of April. 30th of April will see the band thrilling its fans in Kisumu at the Kisumu Simba club. They will then head to Meru on the 7th of May with an electrifying show at the Meru Technical. The tour will be wrapped up at the jewel of the coastal region, Mombasa, with a grand performance set to be held at the Mombasa sports club on the 14th of May.
Adelle Onyango of Kiss FM also commented and said, “Young people do love Kenyan music, especially young people outside Nairobi. People need to be more excited about going to concerts by Kenyan artists like Sauti Sol, H-art the band, Elani, King Kaka, Octopizzo and the like than looking forward to concerts done by international acts. We need to change the narrative and develop the love for Kenyan music first.”
