Fifth Edition of Nyege Nyege festival has already started in Jinja. PHOTOS | ANDREW KAGGWA
Nyege Nyege is fast becoming the most anticipated event in the country.
Since it launched in 2015, the festival that looks at celebrating Electronic Dance Music has been misunderstood; from the naming to the location and style of music, it has been a target for criticism.
Last year, it was even alleged that it was a training ground for gay boys, the allegation saw it banned days before it would kick-off only for the ban to be lifted hours to the D-day.
One of the stages at Nyege Nyege festival. PHOTOS | ANDREW KAGGWA
This year’s edition kicked off at the Nile Discovery Resort in Njeru yesterday.
Unlike many things that start during weekdays, the opening day was not as slow as it had been anticipated; revellers had started making their way to the festival grounds days to the festival that by the time the music systems went on, there was an audience it was playing for.
With more three known stages and many secret ones by corporate sponsors of the festival, Nyege Nyege attracts over one hundred artistes that grace these stages in four days.
Talking to Daily Monitor in an earlier interview, Derrick Debru, one of the founders of the festival noted that they started the shows out of an urge to throw a party, then, they had intended to have a party in a random place, with random artistes and a music that many people were yet to learn about.
The music that made up the 2015 edition has over the years been a big part of what happens on the festival mainstage though, with sponsors that have included Bell Lager and MTN curating their own stages, the sound of the festival has drastically been changing.
This was very visible on the first day where most of the corporate-sponsored stages played had a big catalogue of their music from the top radio songs from Uganda, Nigeria and Jamaica.
However, things on the mainstage were normal with artistes from Tanzania, Uganda and the US engaging audiences with fusion music that most of the times bought from Africa’s ethno sounds and marrying them with electro, garage, techno and dance.
As expected, Njeru has already been paralysed with an influx of people coming in from both Uganda and other parts of the world, according to a local, even the boda boda fares have drastically changed.
The festival that goes on until Sunday is said to attract about 10,000 people and is highly believed to attracts tourists that always fly into the country solely for the festivities.