Wiyaala rocks Upper West with Djimba World Music Festival

As any music promoter will tell you, organising a musical event in Ghana is challenging if your aim is to produce a show which starts on time, finishes at a reasonable hour with all the performers singing happily together with a live band at the finale. That is exactly what Wiyaala achieved with the second edition of her Djimba World Music Festival in Wa on Saturday night.

It is a tribute to her love for her people, that,notwithstanding her success as an international performer, she hasreturned from her exploits in foreign lands to the Upper West Region with the motivation and determination to be a change maker in the region in which she was born and bred.

Wiyaala would be the first to admit the Djimba World project needs a plan for growth in future years, but she has got off to a good start as the excellent organisation and artist choices will serve as a template that ensures audience satisfaction in the future.

The inspired choice of artists showcased a rich palette of the different styles and genres and kept the audience fully engaged with outstanding performances from HadgiMuzik from Tumu, Suntaama from Nandom and AlaajiNazz from Tamale. Taarza Tailor, a traditional story telling musician delighted the audience with his raw African voice, mesmeric dancing and saucy moves on his dancers. Given the opportunity, he would undoubtedly be a huge hit at the African festivals in Europe. Prince Kareem aka “Jah Bone” had the audience dancing with his smooth African reggae fusion. He is another who deserves at least national recognition. Atongo Zimba and Wiyaala both delivered highly professional uplifting performances confirming why they are in demand on international stages. There were also contributions fromPoby the Poet and Hatie (Wiyaala’s junior sister) who opened the show. The whole evening was expertly stitched together by the Djimba World Band allowing a seamless transition from one act to another, thus ensuring there were no awkward gaps in the programme.

The highlight was when all the artists joined Atongo on stage to sing his evergreen hit “No Beer In Heaven” along with the audience. It was that moment which characterised more than any other, the theme for theDjimba World Musicfestival which was Wiyaala’s desire to bring music, musicians and the community together in perfect harmony.