S Concert: Good show but too many performers

PATRONS who made it to Starr FM's S Concert the Ghana International Trade Fair on Friday, December 7, may have gone expecting to have fun but what they did not anticipate was the long list performers, especially underground acts who nearly killed the fire at what was a good show.

The S Concert kicked off with a lot of enthusiasm and energy among the patrons who had thronged the venue but that started to wear off as underground artistes given the opportunity to mount the stage could not impress.

Since it started in 2014, the S Concert has been used to unearth talent by giving underground artistes a chance to show off what they can do and although they have they have done pretty well over the years, the case was different this time as they failed.

For more than four hours, underground acts including some who are gradually getting mainstream attention lik Ama Petals, Jj3 Gormi and S3fa under delivered and it was quite embarrassing watching some of them lose the chance to sell themselves.

Act after act did nothing more than scream and incessantly tell the DJ to 'pull up' and some of them got patrons laughing at their antics.

However, a standout performer was Black Avenue Music act, Freda Rhymes. The rapper, who won MTN Hitmaker 6 didn't just excite the audience with her rapping skills but her energetic choregography. She was a delight to watch and the loud applause as she left the stage was well deserved.

Freda Rhymes was good

At about midnight, the real party, hosted by Starr FM's Giovanni Caleb, started and the patrons were more than ready to have fun.

Feli Nuna put up a great show with the likes of Dope Nation, Kwesi Arthur, Kofi Kinaata, Kelvyn Boy, Edem, Wisa Greid, Wendy Shay, Medikal, Jupitar, and Ras Kuuku also giving very good accounts of themselves.

One discovery on the night was that the two biggest artistes from the Northern Region, Fancy Gadam and Maccasio have a loyal following, which is not limited to their home region as they were well received by the patrons.

The 'old' hands; Praye, Bright of Buk Bak fame, Yoggie Doggie and Kwadee proved they've still got what it takes to charge a crowd with their performances.They took patrons back in the day with hits such as Angelina, Kolom, Gonja Barracks, Shordy, Wonkoa, Ataa Adwoa and Ye Ko Mmaa P3.

Bright of Buk Bak fame also had a great night

At about 3:30 am on Saturday, it was obvious patrons were tired but not too exhausted to stay till award winning Dancehall artiste, Stonebwoy, who was the headline act took to the stage.

With expectations high, Stonebwoy did not disappoint his presence on stage taking away the fatigue that was showing on the faces of patrons at the time.

With a new energy, the crowd chanted his name with some showing off placards with his image. Dirty Enemies, Pepper Dem,  Baafira, Come Over, Tomorrow, Pull Up were some of the songs Stonebwoy performed to the delight of the patrons.

The S Concert, which closed after 4am on Saturday, also saw a performance from Nigeria's Victor AD of Weytin We Gain fame.

In all, this year's S Concert was good but the long list of performers unnecessarity dragged the show. A patron, Enam Agbozo shared similar concerns, saying patrons attend the event to watch their favourite artistes and not underground acts.

" I perfectly understand that the organisers want to give underground artistes a platform to sell themselves but I think they are too many. Four hours and more watching artistes you haven't heard of and their songs is a put off. I hope the organisers do something about it next year," she told Showbiz.

Showbiz