Inside Sol Fest: How December’s most anticipated concert went down

The all too popular Kenyan boy band sang these lyrics in their 2019 smash hit 'Extravaganza’, and boy did they mean it.

Like Coachella, Sauti Sol have really defined concert going.

Sol Fest, the much-anticipated inaugural gig by boy band Sauti Sol and their signees, went down in unhurried sets before a sold-out, elated crowd at the Carnivore Grounds on Sunday.

On a stage decked out for the performances, Sauti Sol, Sol Generation’s Bensoul and Nviiri, Chris Kaiga, Femi One, Wakadinali, Maandy and The Only Rosa sounded nothing short of amazing in front of their hometown fans, who had a blast being back at a live event since the pandemic.

From the moment the line up began with ‘The Only Rosa’, the audience was on their feet — and that’s where they stayed all night, as Chimano said in his lyrics, “Only good vibes and energy, we’re gonna dance the night away...”

While the historic musical experience was as expected, the various artists kept both the tempo and enthusiasm of the audience at a high as concert goers sang along word by word, beat by beat, to most songs, if not throughout the sets.

The Grammy-certified music group Sauti Sol kept the mood mellow and the spotlight was firmly on them as the key performers of the night.

As usual, Sauti Sol highlighted the enormous talent of the quartet as they headlined the concert with the ‘Midnight Train’ album featuring hit songs among them ‘Rhumba Japani’, ‘Suzanna’, ‘My Everything’, ‘Nenda Lote’, ‘Sober’, just to mention a few.

Vocalist Bien Aime sang lead in most songs while Fancy Fingers looked on and answered with his guitar.

The boy band performed in two sets with a break in between for an outfit change.

The Sauti Sol sets were a cocktail of their new and old projects, as the band, which is still best-known for songs from around 13 years back performed the likes of ’Lazizi’ and ‘Gentleman’.

The iconic music group performed their debut solo songs following the second chapter of the life of Sauti Sol, what the group is calling ‘Alone-Together’.

Bien, Savara, Fancy Fingers, Chimano, Bensoul and Nviiri The Storyteller all collectively closed with fantastic encore performances of songs they have collaborated together, sending the audience home with a night to remember.