For all the authentic entertainment events, there is really only one place to be. Proven time and time again, it’s physically impossible for a dull moment to exist in our emerging megacity, and a key element of Lagos’ spark are the events. Lagos is called ‘Eko for show’ after all. It is no wonder event centers are springing up more rapidly across the city, and event management is an increasingly profitable career. Not just talking trademark owanbes or upbeat club nights, but also new ideas for dynamic productions that change global views of Africa.
Looking for a fantastic event to attend today, this weekend or in the coming months? Look no further than the city’s events calendar, chock-full of fantastic annual holiday happenings from open-air festivals to memorial shows and award ceremonies which attract international talents. Looking to unleash your inner culture vulture or social butterfly? Here’s a little taster of sensational entertainment shows distinct to Lagos.
AFRIMA
The All Africa Music Awards [AFRIMA] is no regular award show. It is an annual African ceremony first held in 2014, and the city of Lagos has hosted each event since its inception. Nigeria won the first hosting rights with a three-year tenure (2014 to 2016), subsequently earning a second three-year right after the successes of the first three editions. This new tenure will end in 2019, before then, this enthralling city will do what it does best, bedazzle guests in all its vibrant glory.
Designed to recognize, promote and award rich African music, and to preserve our musical culture, the ceremony engages millions of African music fans worldwide. Public votes determine which artistes get awarded, alongside votes from the members of a recording academy of music icons. The awards consists of thirty-three categories in all, including the special AFRIMA Legendary Award which would go to recognized veterans of African music. The categories are separated into two units: according to region (the five African regions) or genre.
The value of music in Africa, as in other parts of the world, is almost indispensable. It is inseparable from human existence, and is amongst the many pillars of culture and tradition. African music is part of the African identity. As the world recognizes, increasingly, the potential of the resource that is African song, the need for compelling Afrocentric musical experiences is underscored. Our potential needs to be converted to achievement, and then, legacy.
AFRIMA was conceived as an answer to this pressing need, to inspire and celebrate a new generation of great African music. Steadfastly following their vision to promote African music until it is ultimately revered globally, AFRIMA has pledged to achieve that mission while sticking to core values of Fairness, Authenticity, Creativity, Excellence, Integrity, and Transparency; bedrocks of any successful initiative. The ceremony pushes to propel Afro talents beyond African borders. How? Through strategic partnerships, collaboration and widespread media. One of such integral partnerships is with the African Union (AU) – which is apt since the vision is to promote Africa.
Furthermore, there have been extensive debates and strategizing for over three years prior to AFRIMA’s inauguration, to identify a gap in the market place and to close that gap, to create a brand that will live up to the expectations of internal and external stakeholders. Deliberations and conferencing included regional directors and strategists from the South African Development Community [SADEC], Eastern Africa, Central Africa, North and West Africa, and till date, the initiative has five Regional Directors and fifty-four Country Directors as part of the decision-making unit. Creating the sustainable growth of the African music industry as a contributor to national and continental economies is one of its key missions.
The AFRIMA events week features a Pre-Awards Reception and Soiree, the African Music Summit, the AFRIMA Awards Ceremony, and ‘Africa Music Village,’ a glamorous November occasion attended by the brightest African stars. First convened at the Grand Ballroom of the prestigious Oriental Hotel, the show has since – for three consecutive editions – been held at the Eko Convention Center of the world-famous Eko Hotel and Suites.
Rhythm Unplugged
Experience the biggest acts in music at Lagos' standout Eko Convention Center. ‘The biggest music concert in Africa’ is only one way to describe this phenomenal show. An annual Christmas-season event sponsored by Pepsi, it features the biggest acts of the African Music Industry, and a few international acts too, for a night of pure, unadulterated music. The show also infuses DJ spins and comedy between performances, and is produced entirely by virtuoso music crafter, Cobhams Asuquo.
In 2004, developed by Flytime Promotions, Rhythm Unplugged made its first appearance on the Lagos popular culture scene, and every year, the show returns bigger and better. Amidst some of the biggest promotional packages in Africa, the headlining and support acts are announced and tickets are sold; surprise performances are later uncovered to solidify Rhythm Unplugged as the concert to attend.
For the show’s thirteenth year in 2017, Pepsi sponsored the stage yet again for Wizkid, Davido, Olamide and Tiwa Savage – inarguably Africa’s most outstanding performers – to headline, backed up by raves of the moment: Ycee, Runtown, Maleek Berry, Mayorkun, Simi, 9ice, Nonso Amadi, and a surprise feature from international phenomenon, Big Shaq. The result was a thrilling experience, with adrenaline that surely lasted well into the New Year.
One Lagos Fiesta
A festival to celebrate Lagos simply cannot be left out of a commentary on events in Lagos; a complete coup. That said, there is everything festive and inviting about this modern Christmas festival… and it is not just the Christmas spirit.
The idea to transform the five key districts of Lagos: Ikeja, Ikorodu, Epe, Badagry and Lagos Island, into tourist attractions and holiday destinations, led to the conception of this eight-day fiesta – the brainchild of the honorable former Governor of Lagos, Akinwunmi Ambode. A medley of music, art and a variety of entertaining activities, now awaits the general public – visitors and residents of the five districts – during the holiday season.
The event has been graced by millions of revelers overtime – Lagosians and tourists from around the world. Prior to the Fiesta, Lagos moves to the wonder of the Lagos Street Carnival; the carnival setting the proper tone for the One Lagos Fiesta. The engaging carnival involves a parade of colors by representatives of the 57 Local Government Councils and the Organized Private Sector (OPS).
Every year, the fiesta serves as a worthy curtain call to a challenging, but hopefully, highly rewarding and glorious year. For the twenty million Lagos residents, the apprehension over a likely dull Christmas/New Year season as the year ends, quickly fades away as the Fiesta kicks off. This grand show was introduced in 2016, sponsored by Nigerian telecommunications company, Globacom – which explains the prominent presence of exclusively branded entertainment packages. The activity line-up is just short of overwhelming in its attempt to leave no dull moment for the teeming crowd the fiesta attracts. Expect comedy, celebrity appearances, and diverse games.
Visit each venue from as early as noon, and watch the show come alive with fun activities dedicated to children for the first six hours. As the sun prepares to set, adult-centric activities are unveiled: open-air music shows and cultural performances, exhibition fairs, comedy and cuisine, all authentically Lagos-bred. Somewhere in the midst of all this action comes ‘Lagos Got Talent,’ a grassroots competition aimed at discovering new talents from across all entertainment forms.
Auditions are held at the beginning of the fiesta week for a fifty-candidate shortlist; the shortlisted from each of the five zones will compete until there are two finalists each on the last day of the fiesta – the grand finale – at the Eko Atlantic where they would share the central stage with established artistes. Three winners have been chosen each year, and have been awarded substantial cash prizes.
Revealed as the single largest event on the continent by analysts, a big budget has been set aside for the annual occasion, very visible from the quality of the shows. Attracting an audience going into millions across all five locations, for each spectacular finale, Nigeria’s most prominent entertainers of all genres are recruited to, well, entertain. Add that and a grand fireworks display for the countdown into the New Year, and it is easier to imagine that the One Lagos Fiesta indeed lights up the city. A multi-dimensional production that ticks all the virtual boxes necessary for an art, culture, entertainment, and community event…Africa’s biggest holiday fiesta!
FELABRATION
Some facts can still be considered relative; they can become a subject of extensive argument based on differing opinions and perspective. Then, there are facts that are undeniably true…a universal belief. Fela Anikulapo-Kuti – musician, multi-instrumentalist, composer, activist, father of Afrobeats – never died. That is an inarguable fact. He is…a music god? Perhaps, or just an immortal essence. His spirit lives on, crossing borders, inspiring movements.
People all over the world still listen to his often unmelodious crooning, through records that some have owned for years. His Afrika Shrine is indeed a shrine, a place to experience new-found pride in raw Africanism, a sanctuary for many: music lovers and fervent acolytes of his school of thought. His legacy has inspired some of the leading global musicians of today. His style, mimicked by many, revered by all. It has been twenty-one years since his death, and his global influence is still palpable.
Fela, whose music preached strong socio-politically relevant messages – relevant still, till date – inspired lives, and it was in his memory that his daughter, Yeni in 1998, initiated a weeklong music festival and tagged it ‘Felabration.’ As the moniker implies, the festival aims to celebrate her father: his music, his person and his legacy. Every detail of the show is designed to honor Fela. The annual event marks the juju master’s birthday week (usually the second to third week in October); the musical performances and displays are done in his signature style by artistes from around the world who are most inspired by him. The music festival also features The Fela Street Carnival Parade, Dance Troupes, Photo Exhibitions, and socio-political seminars.
Felabration has attracted myriad tourists to its exclusive venue, the New Afrika Shrine, located in our city’s captivating capital. It has expectedly transformed from what started as a simple memorial fest to a grand tourist attraction made official by the Lagos State Government – major sponsor of the festival. Great icons of African music, young and old, come to pay homage to who everyone recognizes as a defining pioneer of what is modern Afro pop music. The open-air Afrika Shrine stage has hosted Hugh Masakela, Lucky Dube, Awilo, Baba Maal, Les Nubians, Lagbaja, King Sunny Ade, Asa, and Fela’s own sons, proud carriers of his flag, Femi and Seun Kuti. In 2008, over fifty international artistes converged at the shrine, from the United States, Great Britain, France and Senegal, to perform at this glorious event, under the banner, African Express. The event delivers more than just entertainment. The life of music is firmly evoked, the spirit of the through African beat, amidst the thump of the physical drums.
A new edition, a new theme; Felabration 2017 was themed “Prophecy.” By that time, the show had transcended into a global celebration of culture, history, art and education, yet firm in the minds of the Lagos people is its integral purpose: Fela. A man who preached one gospel, passionately despairing over the decay of his nation. As his words still echo from our mouths, through his thoughtful lyrics, we watch with a renewed hope as everything he fought for and envisioned for this country, slowly but steadily comes to pass. Over two decades after his death, vindication has come to Fela Ransome-Kuti, Africa’s musical genius. Afrobeat, his gift to the world, is now a global phenomenon, on his own uncompromising terms, social content intact.
Gidi Culture Festival
Or simply GidiFest; this celebration of music and arts, created in response to an excessive demand for live, affordable and accessible music, is a vibrant showcase of professional and amateur live bands, DJs, and rave musical artistes. There are equally appealing side attractions: outdoor activities, an art fair, exhibitions. With the main show which features acts across Africa, stretching as far as the United Kingdom and the United States, it is impossible to imagine a more zestful experience.
The purpose of this exuberant festival of arts is to encourage the development of local talent and to promote this talent within and outside the continent. The Fest was established by Eclipse Live Africa in 2014, and its self-stated goal is to provoke insightful thoughts and empower the African youth. Since its inception four years ago, the festival has been noted for its novel ideas: bringing a refreshing musical experience to Africa, whilst adding to the aura of Lagos life. Giving back to the community is another integral goal for the organizers as it also holds the Beach Sweeps and Dreams Project, an initiative which offers youths work opportunities in different creative industries.
The fest has proven to be a truly dynamic event, becoming the most popular, raved-about musical event in Africa, in such a short time. Some have ambitiously tagged the show Africa’s Coachella. Not too far-fetched as acclaimed American DJ, Diplo, would probably agree. He was happy to blow off an opportunity to headline US’ Coachella festival in favor of the GidiFest 2017. If anything, GidiFest is a very necessary enterprise at a time when authentic African music is getting the most global attention. Perhaps, the fest is one of the factors we have to thank for the increasing recognition.
The GidiFest 2018 edition was live on March 30 at the Hard Rock Café beach front. It promised to meet the bar set by previous editions and vastly surpass it. When the time came, the show did not disappoint. Not surprising, considering it was headlined by two Afro beat legends of different generations: Tubaba Idibia, the veteran, and Wizkid, currently Nigeria’s biggest music export. These headline acts were flanked by more show-stoppers: Ycee, Adekunle Gold, Brymo, Maleek Berry, and Mayorkun.
Possibly following the lead of music festivals worldwide, a side stage was also introduced for rookie artistes. Newbies who have already begun to make a name for themselves on a small-scale, looking for the next level in their journey to fame – and GidiFest is the perfect platform. At each festival, year after year, one theme is obvious, an effort to continuously redefine the Nigerian sound. This redefinition will be achieved with the vibrant city of Lagos as its colorful backdrop.
This is by no means a comprehensive list. Tell us some of the top Lagos events we might've missed out, in the comments section below.
Next Sunday we will explore fun places for Lagos children!
The outline of this series was curated by Favour Umanah