Image: TINTSEH
On Saturday, November 4th, 2023, all roads led to Uhuru Gardens for Sauti Sol’s last dance (Sol Fest) as the group took a break to focus on solo careers.
Revelers from different parts of the country showed up at the venue ready to have a good time and interact with their favorite celebrities who were lined up to perform.
This was one of the major concerts that were going down over the weekend, with Sauti Sol performing to their Nairobi fans for the last time as they took a break.
Gates opened as early as 4:00 pm on Saturday, allowing party people to secure their preferred spots that could enable them to enjoy the performance without any struggles.
Image: TINTSEH
Despite talks of tickets being a bit pricy, Kenyans got value for their money as the performances brought the venue to a standstill.
During the Festivals, Sauti Sol and all those who performed kept time and by around 1:30 am the show was already and all partygoers were satisfied. The boys got on stage at Exactly 10:00 pm and they even had a 10-minute countdown just to prep their fans that they were about to hit the stage.
Being their last show as a group, Sauti Sol brought out rappers Khaligraph Jones, Nyashinski, Dela, and P-Unit to help them summarize their 20 years in the industry.
The Boy Band also performed together with Sol Generation Boys – Nviiri and Bensoul who had earlier warmed up the stage for the big Boys.
Several DJs and acts from the Sol Generations project – Press Play also got a chance to share the stage with Sauti Sol.
Before the show, Sol Fest Organizers had advised revelers to consider Gum Boots as their shoes of choice and many did. The ongoing rains had rendered Uhuru Gardens muddy and their choice your shoes had all to do with the weather.
Best highlights from the 2023 Sol Fest that went on at Uhuru Gardens
P-Unit
Sauti Sol invited P-Unit (Gabu, Frasha and Boneye) to sing their 9-year-old Gentleman and the crowd was singing all as the tune ruled the air at Uhuru Gardens.
Nyashinski
Rapper Nyashsnki joined Sauti Sol on stage as a surprise act to perform their hit song Short and Sweet.
After the performance, Nyash used a few minutes to celebrate Sauti Sol as one of the greatest Music groups that Kenya has ever produced.
“There have been so many groups in Kenya (Kleptomaniax, Kalamasha, GidiGidi Majiji) but one name stands above them all and that one name is Sauti Sol, thank you for creating a sound for our life men. We love you guys. Long live Sauti Sol,” Nyashisnki said.
Khaligraph Jones
Blu Ink's CEO and Founder was on stage also as a surprise act. Together with Sauti Sol, they performed their 2018 banger –Rewind.
Bensoul and Nviiri
Sol Generation Signee’s Nviiri the Storyteller and Bensoul staged a joint performance of Sol Fest 2023 – performing in turns as the curtain raised for the main acts of the night.
The two performed most of their hit song and later joined Sauti Sol on stage for Extravaganza and Rhumba Japanni.
Crazy Kennar
Comedian Crazy Kennar got a rare opportunity to market his upcoming StandUP comedy show dubbed “Happy Country”.
Sauto Sol led by Bien agreed to accommodate Kennar on the Sol Fest stage, giving him a chance to invite Sauti Sol fans to his upcoming show. He used the opportunity well, and if Nairobians will keep their word then his show will be a great success.
Biggest score at the Concert and Recommendation
The sound for the event was on point and all the artists who stepped on stage understood the assignment.
The security at Sol Fest was on point – all the stewards and police officers on the ground did a good job.
However, it is high time event organizers and their teams put their house in order as far as Ticketing is concerned.
Despite fans arriving in large numbers at the venue, a section struggled to get into the venue either by design or by default.
The media industry was not exempted, as journalists who arrived at the venue past 8:00 pm had no one to attend to them, - leaving them stranded for the better part of the night.
