The journey to Sunbird Nkopola Lodge took me exactly 24 hours from when I departed London Heathrow at 7pm on Thursday 24th September 2015. I was tired, I was hungry and but I was really looking forward to seeing the head-liners at the Lake of Stars festival.
Friday 25th September
TOYA DELAZYE; a young, beautiful and talented musician from South Africa was one of the highlights of the first night. She came on stage to an eagerly awaiting crowd who managed to sing all the lyrics to her songs, which were a combination of raps and melodies.
I totally fell in love with the sounds of UHURU, a four man band also from South Africa who’s electrifying sounds were complimented by a very energetic performance. All group members played an important part in bringing good vibes to the crowd through their unique voices and dance moves.
Both DJ DAWEE and DJ FOSTA from Germany and South Africa respectively had a really good sets, mixing dance tracks from hip-hip to reggae and Afrobeats that got the crowd doing all sorts of shapes and break dancing on the beach.
Saturday 26th September
RIC HASSANI, a male solo artist from Nigeria knew exactly how to pull in the crowd during his performance and the groupies backstage after his set lol. Ric describes his sound as Afro-pop with groovy beats and smooth lyrics. I managed to speak to Ric and asked what he thought the difference was between Malawian and Nigerian music:
“This is my first time at Lake of Stars and performing here is great opportunity to get exposure and have some fun. Malawian music is chilled and makes you feel good, whereas Nigerian music attacks you all over and makes you move but I love both sounds”
Sunday 27th September
LUCIUS BANDA; one of Malawi’s biggest artists was an old school musician, but one of the best performers at the festival. He had great stage presence and was supported by amazing backup dancers.
The YOUNG FATHERS of Scotland had a late 12:45am start but that didn’t deter me from staying up to get a glimpse of their one hour set. After winning a Mercury Prize in 2014 I was really intrigued to hear more of their music. Backstage I briefly spoke to Alloysious Massaquoi who said he was really happy to be at the festival and looked forward to travelling more of Africa. Finger’s crossed he comes on one of our trips!
