South Sudanese radio station to host concert this weekend

The gig will be headlined by Kenyan-based South Sudanese singer Giir West. Other confirmed artists are MC Lumoex, Larson Angok, John Kudusay, Achuei Deng Ajiing, Yai Yai, Marko Ahow Majok and Dau Mobatel.

The event's organiser, John Kuol, told Music In Africa that the concert, which is planned to be held annually, would double up as a marketing platform for SSANS Radio.

“When we launched the radio station in February 2016 our aim was to promote local musicians in the diaspora,” he said. “But for the few months that we have been operational, we realised that we could do more for the artists apart from just playing their music.

“So when Giir West approached us for a partnership, we were happy to support him. We are also hoping to recruit local presenters for the various music-related shows that we will be unveiling soon."

Kuol said that the concert would mark the singer’s debut performance in South Sudan.

“Giir West has never been in South Sudan his entire life,” he said. “He was based in Uganda before moving to Kenya so we are sure this show will really open up more concerts for him.”

“Moving forward, we expect more artists from the diaspora to begin coming here for shows. We are in contact with many of them so we will facilitate that process. Some diaspora musicians are popular here yet people have never seen them.”

MC Lumoex said that the radio station had played an important role in exposing South Sudanese talent and facilitating collaborations between artists from different countries.

“You know, this is a very unique concert for me because it is the first since we signed the peace deal,” he said. ”We have artists from different communities coming together to participate, which means we will have a diverse audience under one roof. I would like to thank our two leaders and other facilitators for making it possible."

President Salva Kiir and rebel leader Riek Machar are set to sign a final peace deal on 27 August after the two parties reached a consensus on previous outstanding issues relating to the Khartoum Peace Agreement.