It was a celebration of good music and fun on Saturday- the first day of Mutzig Beer Fest at the Rugende Training Centre.

The start of the two-day event attracted a cross section of revellers, artistes and talented DJs.

But it was Lillian Mbabazi and her band Sundowners who stole the evening in a musical performance that left the fest goers shuddering in awe of the musical prowess the duo exhibited.

For the Ugandan-Rwandan former member of girl group Blu-3, it was an emotional homecoming performance in a country where majority of her family and friends live.

"First of all, this is like a homecoming for me. I have a lot of friends and family here. I enjoyed the crowd tonight,” said Mbabazi, who goes by the stage name Lilian.

Indeed, many were looking forward to Mbabazi and the Sundowners’ performance last night, and needless to say, the talented artiste impressed the crowd with her fantastic voice and amazing stage presence.

She sang a couple of her beautiful songs from the old ones like Vitamin and Danger to her current hit song Memories, which mainly share messages of love to inspire people.

Following musician Mani Martin’s request, Lillian even sang Simple Girl; a song she was not intending to sing initially. The audience was mesmerised and she went through more of her songs like Kawa and Yegwe Weka.

Even Maurice Kirya, the award winning Ugandan musician, was part of the audience and he could not help it but cheer on the songstress.

"As soon as I found out that Lilian was performing, I knew I had to come”, says the artiste, adding that "Of course, she is from Uganda. But I also wanted to see how Rwandans party, how they have a good time and I am delighted.”

Mbabazi fans will also be delighted to hear that she is planning to hold her first concert in Rwanda very soon, a revelation she made backstage.

But she was not the only one to touch the audience. Mani Martin was the other artiste to steal hearts and souls at the fest.

"I am really happy to be here tonight. It is great to see so much love and support,” said Mani Martin after his performance, which too was liked by many. There was a lot of singing, dancing and laughing at the event which attracted people from diverse cultures.

By press time, day two of the beer fest was taking place in Rugende, with the sensational South African musical duo, Mafikizolo expected to perform.

The annual beer fest is organised by Bralirwa under its premium brand Mutzig.

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