The Grammy Award winner will be supported by 10 local artists, including Otile Brown, June Gachui and The Motown in Nairobi Ensemble. Their performances will be complemented by music from Kenyan soul and R&B DJs Pinye, Stylez and Forest.
The festival, organised by Stanbic Bank in partnership with Radio Africa Group, seeks to nurture and promote the development of the performing and visual arts in Kenya.
Stanbic CEO Charles Mudiwa says the bank is proud to be a part of Kenya’s arts and cultural legacy. “We are deeply committed to ensuring Kenya’s talent can be celebrated by promoting arts and music. We believe that by doing so, we are contributing to the growth of the entertainment industry and the economy,” he said
The inaugural Stanbic Yetu Festival took place virtually in August 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown, with the digital event aiming to connect the local and global music community during the pandemic. Close to 7.4 million Kenyans joined the first-ever simulcast of a music concert in the country.
Radio Africa events manager Somoina Kimojino said when COVID-19 was declared a pandemic, representatives from Radio Africa and Stanbic had spoken about the need to support the industry in trying times.
“We came up with Yetu Festival to support Kenyan artists,” Kimojino said. “It’s such an honour that we are here. This partnership started a year ago, but the conversation started earlier. Charles has always had a passion for music and when he came to Kenya, he wanted to do something to support the industry.”
Mudiwa added that the event was all about having fun and promoting Kenyan music. “We believe in music and culture. Music is something that unites Africans. Our whole lives revolve around music. At Stanbic Bank, we cannot say we are truly Kenyan unless we support music around us. By bringing an international artist we hope to inspire their local counterparts to learn and to grow,” he said.
