Gidi Fest 2019: Nigeria’s biggest music festival doesn’t need big names to have a big night

From June 2018 to April 2019, 4 Nigerian artistes – Davido, Wizkid, Burna Boy and Kizz Daniel – dominated radio plays and streams and concerts.

However, none of them was on the bill for popular annual music and lifestyle festival, Gidi Fest.

When Eclipse Live released the second batch of artistes for the 6th edition of their yearly showpiece with none of the “Big 4” on the bill, there was a considerable amount of murmurs as to why a show of Gidi Fest’s caliber couldn’t get at least one of them.

It didn’t matter in the end. Gidi Fest 2019 was a *expletive* blast.

With maybe the most talented Next Gen stage ever, the show hit the ground sprinting. Bad Boy Blaq, Nonso Amadi, Tems and a host of Nigeria’s finest upcoming talent set the stage for what would be an amazing night of music.

Away from the music, the Gidi Fest 2019 experience was maybe the best ever. The variety of vendors was unlike anything ever. The partnership with Barter (which Mayowa was excitedly looking forward to using) was a great decision and it was nice paying for stuff without having to type a pin or handle cash.

And the booths? Dope. Uber’s booth was a proper studio. Concert-goers seemed to have a ride taking photos in it.

The Main Stage, which everyone looked forward to, kicked off surprisingly slow. The crowd didn’t seem to react well to Ghana’s Joey B and South Africa’s Moonchild Sanelly. Moonchild’s time on stage was salvaged by her performance of Makhe and Chocolate City star Ckay.

Nigerians need to listen to more African music though. Just an opinion.

The Main Stage was the “main” for a reason though, and everybody else who got on it left a lasting impression on the crowd.

From Patoranking to Niniola to Teni the Entertainer to Sir Shina Peters, with DJ Obi and DJ Cuppy (impressively) keeping the breaks alive, Gidi Fest 2019 proved that it takes more than big names to have a concert for the ages.

My highlight of the night: Wande Coal. Very few Nigerian artistes have a discography that compares to Wande Coal’s, and he took the crowd on an immersive musical journey. Hope to see him again.

Looking forward to Gidi Fest 2020!