On Saturday, January 28, one of the biggest dancehall musicians in the world Collin Demar Edwards, better known by his stage name Demarco, headlined a concert at BK Arena in Kigali, dubbed ‘Demarco in Kigali.’ Despite all the preparations and effort that the organisers put into the show, it received one of the lowest turn-ups at one of the biggest event venues in the country. It was attended by less than 100 people at a venue with a capacity of hosting over 10 thousand revelers, making it the biggest flop in a long time. The event which also saw different local upcoming artistes perform, has fetched heavy public criticism with several local music enthusiasts blaming the organisers for poor organisation, while others said that Rwandans are tired of foreign artistes headlining at local events. What led to ‘the worst flop’ in the history of Rwandan music? Poor organisation still killing local events One of the first 10 people to arrive at the concert who preferred to speak on the condition of anonymity told The New Times that anyone could tell that the event was poorly organised, from time management to performances and the whole set up of the event. This, she said, could also be seen on how dates of the concert kept changing from the first day it was announced. “The concert was at first supposed to take place on December 29, but was postponed just a day before. Also, local artistes that were supposed to perform at the event kept on withdrawing from the lineup and we could tell that something was wrong,” she told The New Times after the show. Chris Eazy, one of the leading Afro beats musicians in the country, also noted how the concert was poorly organised before withdrawing from its line-up. “After careful consideration, we have decided to withdraw from the event due to the unseriousness and unprofessionalism of the event organizers. As a record label, we hold the highest standards for our artists and the events they perform at. We refuse to subject our artist to an event that does not meet those standards,” reads a communique by Giti Business Group, the management label of Chriss Eazy. Also read: What event promoters should leave in 2022 Both Chris Eazy and Ish Kevin refused to perform at the concert while Sintex, Spax, DeeJay Pius, Big Bang Bishanya, Dee Rugz and Davy Ranks never showed up on stage yet they were on the line-up. Demarco is no longer a big deal for Rwandans If the year was 2010, Demarco would have attracted revelers from not only Rwanda but the whole great lakes region. The artiste’s hit ‘Love of my life’ was produced 11 years ago and most partygoers in Kigali today knew nothing about the dancehall genre by then. According to Yves Shyaka, a dancehall fan, event organisers should consider trends before inviting artistes to stage in Rwanda, a move that would save them from losses. “Demarco is a good artiste but old fashioned. There are many new school dancehall singers that can make a good turn up in Kigali. The likes of Dexta Daps, Kranium, Popcaan and many others can never do what Demarco did to Kigalians,” Shyaka said, adding that Demarco has no new music to attract a large number of revelers. Weak publicity and marketing According to Josue Kamana, one of the gospel event promoters in Rwanda, the success of an event relies on its publicity and marketing, which is something organisers of Demarco’s concert didn’t focus on. Kamana said that if a local artiste like Mbonyi fills the BK Arena and Demarco fails to get 50 revelers, it shows how publicity is big when it comes to concerts and other musical events. “Our publicity and marketing strategy should be revised. The Demarco show was not advertised as it should, and it should be an eye opener to other event promoters to invest in publicity and marketing,” he added. Bad timing “Timing and publicity is important. Who is going to a concert on 28th Jan. Hope they learned. They should be asking the public as well. Who do they think they should bring next,” a concerned reveler said via Twitter. She, like many others, blames Demarco’s concert flop on bad timing, saying that budgets are tight in January, considering that people are fresh from the festive season. “Concerts are a luxury in January,” she said. Timing&publicity is important. Who is going to a concert on 28th Jan. Hope they learned. They should be asking the public as well. Who do they think they should bring next. — Juliette Karitanyi (@JujuLaBelle) January 29, 2023 Rwandans want a break from foreign artistes Rwandans, especially partygoers have in the past raised concerns over foreign artistes headlining at local concerts, and it’s up to event promoters to decide who headlines their shows. Recently, East African Promoters (EAP), one of the leading event management companies, became the first to announce that foreign musicians would no longer be headlining their events, a move that was highly welcomed by many Rwandan music lovers. Also Read: Are Nigerian artistes 'over-headlining' at local concerts? Despite all the complaints raised by revelers, some event promoters including organisers of the flopped Demarco show still invite foreign artistes which is why they end up in losses. Many Rwandan artistes like Mike Kayihura, Ish Kevin, Ruti Joel, Ariel Wayz can multiply the numbers at Demarco’s show if given the
