Fans go wild at the 2007 SU Music Concert

SU Music Band

The Strathmore University 2007 Music Concert lived up to its billing as fans went wild with every performance. The main attraction, Eric Wainaina, the first Kenyan to win a Kora award stole the show. SU Music Club, and YUNASI, who were the other performers, also gave the fans more than their money's worth of entertainment.

SU Music Club consisting of a band and a choir that also took the moment as an occasion to launch their new name – Kilele- a Kiswahili word for mountain peak. Albert Apela the choir conductor said that the name was chosen since it signifies the place the choir would like to reach i.e. the peak of music.

Among the songs Kilele was their latest number that won second position in the just concluded Kenya Music festivals. The music clubs lead vocalists Luisa Ogot and Leslie Msagha who also doubled up as the MC kept the fans on their feet with the songs they belted out.

With fans screaming for more the band concluded their performance paving way for arguably one of the best afro-fusion bands in the region YUNASI. YUNASI, a well known band amongst Strathmore students following their memorable performance at the 2006 concert lived up to its billing. It kept the fans entertained the entire time.

The cheering reached a crescendo when YUNASI sang African Night an easy sing along dance song. With Usilewe, a song from their latest album YUNASI left the stage with fans giving them a standing ovation.

Then came the man of the day, Eric Wainaina and his Mapinduzi band. Deafening screams from adoring fans greeted Eric and every time he wanted to start singing, the fans cheered him all the more. It was only after about two minutes of cheering did the fans let Eric belt out the first words of his hit song Nani, Nani?

By then about 100 fans were at the foot of the stage taking photos of Eric and waving their hands or both. The momentum kept rising and by the time he was singing his 2002 Kora award winning song Nchi ya kitu kidogo everyone in the auditorium was on his feet singing and dancing along. After an hour and a half of non-stop music, Eric retreated from the stage to the claps and cheers from the crowd.

After the concert both the Sawa Sawa and Twende Twende CDs that the Mapinduzi band had brought were sold out with Eric autographing them. The concert's invited guests- Children from Kwetu Home of Peace – enjoyed every bit of it with a few of them going up stage to jig it with Eric.

The concert's organiser Paul Ochieng (SU's Dean of Students) was very impressed with the turn out which was mostly SU students and is looking forward to the 2008 concert which he promises will be bigger than the 2007.