John Blaq on stage (Photo by Lawrence Ogwal)
Nina Roz (Photo by Lawrence Ogwal)
If you have heard a thing or two about Gulu town, it is the nightlife. Those who have experienced it always leave with tales to tell. So you can imagine what it was like on Saturday when the All-Star music tour made its next stop there. Acholi Inn was the place to be and the party animals were all set!
Revellers, however, came in at a slow pace, meaning artistes had to be held for a bit as Mc Young Money and DJ Frisco from Gulu kept the crowd busy. Performances only began after midnight.
John Blaq was the first performer of the night and he received quite an applause, although it did not beat the love he got from Mbarara. He performed all his songs before leaving stage for Nina Roz, who came with lots of energy but left shortly after a fan she invited on stage disrespected her. “Always respect women,” Nina Roz said as she left in protest.
During Spice Diana and Vinka’s performance, the crowd kept calling out for Beenie Gunter, to the surprise of many. Apparently Beenie Gunter is quite a darling in Gulu, so the organisers played it in their favour, saving him for last.
Revelers in Gulu having a good time (Photo by Lawrence Ogwal)
Fik Fameica, who was next on stage and he did get some love, which he returned by giving out the blue jacket he was wearing, a red t-shirt and shoes.
The saying ‘East or West home is best’, was evidenced when Ezzi, a hip hop artiste from Gulu came on stage. Suddenly it was like the crowd had been resuscitated. For a moment there, you would wonder whether the previous performances had been the curtain-raising.
Ezzi commanded the crowd in Acholi as he urged them to give him more energy as a sign to the artistes from Kampala that they rule their soil. Ezzi was the cooling factor for the crowd that had started losing patience as they resorted to throwing bottles around. This forced some people to jump barricades and fall in the VIP section whereas some of those in the VIP exited the venue.
Vinka Performing during the All-star show in Gulu (Photo by Lawrence Ogwal)
By the time Beenie Gunter came on stage, the situation had not been brought under control. For a crowd that had looked forward to his performance, it was a sad situation because he only managed to perform a few songs before the police came and blocked the show.
This was the second edition of the Bell Jamz All-Star tour, the first having been in Mbarara. The next will go to Masaka and Kabale before the climax that will be headlined by Jamaican singers Christopher Martin and D-Major in August.
