Ghanaian High-life Extravaganza

Fans of Ghanaian highlife music were last week Friday treated with the best rendition of well-known artistes who have made their mark in that brand of indigenous music.

The event, dubbed "Music of Ghanaian Origin" is an initiative of an Accra based radio station, Citi FM. Taking place live at the International Conference Centre, this year's concert was the second, in what organisers hope will become an annual affair.

Renowned musicians who featured at the show, in order of performance, were Agya Koo Nimo, Thomas Frempong, Paulina Oduro, Ben Brako, Paapa Yankson, George Darko and the Osibisa Group.

Setting the stage on fire for the night, Agya Koo Nimo and his bandsmen, clad in white traditional cloth, took fans down memory lane with story telling, admonishing songs which served as food for thought for the audience.

Some of his songs were about the, sometimes harsh, realities of life - and he took pains to translate every Twi song into English, perhaps with the realisation that such an event embraces people from all segments of the society.

Thomas Frempong, introduced as "showboy," was next to fire up the fans after Koo Nimo"s gentle performance. Paulina Oduro, the only female artiste, followed with a splendid performance.

Original highlife fans could not wait to give a thunderous welcome to one of Ghana?s finest musicians, Ben Brako, who got fans on their feet for the first time in the night with his shinning performance.

Sam Crabbe, Greater Accra Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, who had taken time out of politics to enjoy the high-life show, could not help but dance enthusiastically to all the sweet songs of Ben Brako.

The fair coloured musician, whose name used to be a household one in the eighties, performed well to the admiration of the audience.

Thereafter the old boy Paapa Yankson took over and did what he knows best ? this by creating jokes with his songs about male and female relationships.

He did one of his popular love but cool songs with Paulina Oduro, and at the end the duo received a standing ovation. Paapa Yankson was the only artiste who breached the usual protocol by descending from the stage to perform close to the audience.

George Darko, the "King of Burger Highlife," arguably had the best band, made up of youngmen who had mustered the handling of their musical instruments.

Himself a renowned guitarist, the king of contemporary highlife was on top of the show as he played the guitar with great dexterity.

George used the occasion to inform the audience of the origin of Ghanaian highlife music.

The last to set the place alight was the famous Osibisa Group. They had the opportunity of performing the longest and the audience was happy for it.

Their delivery was superb and refreshing for the 'old school,? fans but interestingly the younger generation seemed to be in love with the songs as well.

Many more fans would have taken to the floor but lack of space and a clearly demarcated area for dancing made it practically impossible.

Kuuku Welsing Jones, a journalist, told The Saturday Statesman that he was disappointed that the venue was not full to the sitting capacity saying, "I expected the whole place to explode."

"This is a nice event but one thing is that Ghanaians don?t like what belongs to them," he remarked.

The journalist suggested that similar shows to assemble great Ghanaian artistes ought to be part of the programme lined up for the country?s 50th independence anniversary.

Carlos Sakyi, a musician, observed that the musical event was good but reiterated that the whole Ghanaian music industry was not the best because piracy is not being tackled properly by the regulatory agencies.

He told this newspaper that any association that is run without transparency and accountability would not make headway.

He was, however, not happy that many of the artistes who performed were foreign-based.

Nii Armah Dagadu, a member of the organising committee, in an interview with The Saturday Statesman said he was impressed with the attendance and expressed the hope that next year would be a bigger event.

His expectation is that there would be a greater sponsorship to support live music shows to promote Ghanaian highlife music, arguing that for an event of such nature it is difficult to break even without sponsorship.

Reacting to the choice of the venue, Nii Armah noted with regret that the country lacks a a place for musical concerts and had no option but to hire the International Conference Centre. "We needed an attractive venue," he added.

He explained that the show was not meant to discriminate against local artistes but rather sought to leave good memories with the people who attended; hence the selection of foreign-based musicians for this year?s event. He assured that the organisers would consider home-based Ghanaian artistes next time around.

High profile personalities present at the event included Shirley Ayorkor Botcway,Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister; Nana Akomea, Okaikwe South MP; Magnus Opare Asamoah, Deputy Minister for Road Transportation; and Kwaku Sintim Misah, the ace comedian