Uganda’s Afrigo band announces ‘Royal Ball’ concert

Dubbed ‘The Royal Ball’, the concert will be graced by Ronald Muwenda Mutebi II, the Kabaka of Buganda. According to band members Rachael Magoola and Joanita Kawalya, the Royal Ball concert will raise the bar even higher following their 40 years anniversary held last year. 

Moses Matovu, leader of the band, used the occasion of the forthcoming concert to address rumours of the band's split. “Afrigo is like a family," he said. "People come and perform with us even when some of them are not part of the band. The perceived deserters were only performing with us." 

News of the split reached the pubic when in May, the Ugandan media outlet Daily Monitor reported that Frank Mbalire, Sammy Kasule and Daniel Sseninde left Afrigo to form Ziwuma Band. 

Afrigo has been performing music for more than four decades. The band was formed by a group of eight musicians led by Matovu, who is a vocalist and alto saxophonist. The group broke out of the Crane Band, one of Uganda’s leading bands of the time. Other than shaping a sound of its own, Afrigo is regarded as the most influential and consistent band within Uganda. In its more than 40 years of existence, the band has released 22 albums. 

Tickets to 'The Royal Ball' cost UGX 100,000 ($29) and UGX 1 million ($295) for a table. For more information visit the band's Facebook page.

Originally published in The Observer on 2 September