Over the last two weeks or so, I have been wondering what to make of Sauti Sol’s decision to cancel what would have been their first live show since the first COVID-19 case was announced in Kenya.
Also read: Sauti Sol has mastered the art of making good music
Was it sheer arrogance or did the organizers of the Sol Saturday concert, which was happen on December 19th, fail to meet their standards as claimed by one lady by the name Kari – who was to sell food at the event.
Apparently, the award-winning boy band was not pleased with the set up of the stage at Waterfront and they decided to pull the plug on the event on the D-day, 3 hours before the gates opened officially.
Interestingly, Sauti Sol had already received their full performance fee, which according to Kari, was $30,000 which is approximately Ksh. 3,277,500 with current exchange rates.
Anyone will tell you that that amount is no pocket change, bearing in mind that only a handful artists have stepped on stage since the first since March.
Rejecting that handsome amount because you did not like a stage and to add to the fact that when Bien Aime was asked about it he was extremely rude just reeks of arrogance.
I’m not denying the fact that certain artists require specific things before they go on stage, like a specific microphone, certain brands of water or alcohol etc., but I feel Sauti Sol should have been lenient.
As the biggest Kenyan band, their fans really looked forward to seeing them on stage because they released an epic album during the pandemic. I mean, who would not want to see them performing Nenda Lote live?
When they were making the decision to cancel the concert they should have also taken into consideration, the level of preparation that went into putting it together. The suppliers, vendors etc.
All in all, because we have no choice we will eventually forgive them and get back to singing their songs like Golden Bells hymns.