Werrason, Mi Casa light up Nairobi

The event kicked off with a mix of African hits by DJ Protégé. Tetu Shani took the stage about 2pm and opened his set with an instrumental version of Oliver Mtukudzi's 'Todii'. He got the crowd going with ‘Samalina’, and his unique stage presence that includes a fair amount of storytelling. Tetu Shani sings the music of the youth and anyone above 35 may find it abit difficult to connect with his style.

The highlight of his performance came when he brought out singer Mayonde onstage. The crowd went into surprise mode and the two performed ‘Chemistry’ before the performance came to an end with Shani performing another single.  

Second on stage was South Africa’s Mi Casa, who entertained their way into the hearts of Kenyans, especially the ladies who got louder and louder every time J'Something hit the high notes. J'Something's probably hitting even higher notes after the band signed a deal with Sony/ATV today.

Mi Casa – comprising J’Something, Dr Duda and Mo-T – kicked off Koroga by serenading the crowd with smooth jazz vibes. They then turned it on with ‘Turn You On’ which got the crowd going. At this point it was obvious that Mi Casa meant business. Their set was a pleasure to watch and had the right amount of storytelling and humour injected into it.

Anyone with a beating heart would have had their spirits lifted by the South African house band. Mi Casa's one-hour-plus performance ended with 'Feeling You', the Latin-inspired hit that was released as part of the Familia album last year.  

It was then uptempo Werrason and his band's turn to prove their clout to the Kenyan crowd. The soukous singer's set began with his keyboardist, percussionist and guitarist showing off their impressive musical skills, which also served as a neat introduction of the band. After the band played several numbers, Werrason joined onstage and delivered an enthusiastic performance, which left the crowd asking for more at the end of each song. 

His two-hour performance included hits like ‘Pentagone’, ‘Solola Bien’ and ‘Techno Malewa Mecanique’ which got a resounding response from the audience. His rich voice worked to great effect against the repetitive sequences of the descending and resolving lead and rhythm guitars. 

Whether it was the singer’s tireless effort to speak Swahili or his backup singers' iconic Congolese dance moves, his performance was hands down the best of the day.

By 7pm the 22nd edition of Koroga Festival had given the crowd music, food and drinks, making it a successful event. However, it would have been better if the DJs on the day had played music aligned with the genres of the main acts; it may have been a good idea to warm up the crowd with some soukous or rumba before Werrason's set.