Top Kenyan traditional musician to perform in Rwanda

KENYA’s acclaimed traditional musician Tony Nyadundo is set to perform in Rwanda. The concert which is expected to be one of its kind, will take place on October 21, at Macadamia Hotel in Kicukiro. It is billed to be the inauguration of a series of traditionally themed nights and concerts in the country. The entrance fee is Rwf6,000 (food inclusive) and in the mix will be DJs Nano and MC Ken. Set to be celebrated under the theme: “Entertainment and Social wise”, the concert will aim at bringing together the Kenyan community living in Rwanda and friends of Kenya to meet, know each other, celebrate and enjoy great ‘Ohangla’ music. Guests will be treated to ‘Nyama choma’ –grilled meat, a popular Kenyan dish, Tusker and much more. According to Ken Eugene Anangwe, the CEO of EA Production, the company organising the event, in partnership with Macadamia Hotel, the concert will give friends of Kenya an opportunity to sample a different taste of entertainment from Kenya. “Different from what we have been used to seeing; performances by ‘urban life’ artistes and deejays, it’s time now to give the traditions of the various East African countries a chance to be known and appreciated,” Anangwe noted. ‘This is even healthy for the “social and cultural integration pillar” of the whole East African Community integration process,” he added. Nyadundo, who was honoured to perform at the inauguration celebration of the U.S President Barack Obama, will be performing in Rwanda for the first time. The King of Ohangla music, a genre that has taken Kenya by storm, keeps his thing real. And the cool thing about this music is the instrumentation. Who is Tony Nyadundo? Nyadundo is a Kenyan musician. He performs the Ohangla a traditional style of music by the Luo community and he is now branded as the “King of Ohangla”. He was born in Kal in Tanzania. Nyadundo’s twin sister died while he was young. His family moved to Nyahera, Kisumu District, Kenya in 1978 and, later to Kongoni in Nzoia. He went to Kongoni Primary School and then in 1985 moved to Bugembe Secondary School, but dropped out of school due to lack of funds. Nyadundo worked as a tailor until 1992 and he also tried deejaying. In 1998, he moved to Migori District in Kenya and performed for local fishing communities. His debut album ‘Ayaki’ was released in 2002. This marked a turning point of his career and he finally started to gain financially from being a musician. His second album ‘Kidi Oba e Toke’, which translates “stoned on the back”. The name derives from a concert were his band was attacked by thugs. In 2006, he released album ‘Obama’. The name alludes to Barack Obama, the US President whose father is from the same region as Nyadundo. At the 2007, Kisima Music Awards, Nyadundo won the traditional music category. Nyadundo is recognised for his songs such as ‘Dawa ya mapenzi’, ‘Obama’ and many more hits. He has performed in various countries including Germany and USA. Ends

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Top Kenyan traditional musician to perform in Rwanda