Live In Accra!

Good live band music enthusiasts who missed last Saturday’s performances by Amandzeba and Rex Omar at the Alliance Francaise open-air theatre in Accra should be kicking themselves for missing out on a great show.

There was the complete Amandzeba with his 17-piece band playing it all out as though their lives depended on how beautifully they performed.

They demonstrated an unusual blend of harmony, with each note on the keyboard, each blow of the wind instruments, each strike of the drums, each strum of the guitar and each line of the songs, complementing each other.

Amandzeba himself was in his elements. The songs he did on the night, selected from his recorded repertoire were received with cheers from the equally mixed local and foreign audience.


Some bobbed their heads and tapped their feet; some stood up from their seats and clapped and yelled; while the bold ones stepped onto the dance floor.

At the end of his slot when Amandzeba had to leave, the audience won’t let him until he had done an extra song.

Rex Omar, Amandzeba’s cradle-mate put up a similarly exciting performance. Leading his 13-strong Nu Ashanti band, he played a number of songs from his albums which excited the audience and got many people dancing.

Two other performers at the concert were Lucky Mensah whose recent Old School has been enjoying a lot of patronage, and the Vision Band of the National Theatre.

The Alliance Francaise show was organised to celebrate the release of a CD compilation of Ghana’s select highlife and hiplife artistes including both Amandzeba and Rex as well as Kojo Antwi, Charles Amoah, Kojo Aquai, Atongo, Kwaadee and Lucky Mensah.

The show was organised by the French Embassy with support from the Institute for Music Development.

Foacine Meyer of the cultural section of the French Embassy said in order to achieve the aim of promoting Ghanaian music, the French Embassy will help the musicians sign up with some internationally-recognised record labels in France.

The CD will be promoted at festivals in France and some African countries.