Ndere Cultural Center was filled with excitement on Saturday, September 12, as Kenneth Mugabi marked 10 years of his Kibun’omu album, and his birthday, with a career-spanning concert powered by V&A Sherry.
The night opened with tributes to Mugabi’s roots with the Uganda, Buganda and Busoga anthems, followed by a tribute to Tooro’s late King Oyo that had the audience on its feet, emotional, with phones raised, to honour his life and legacy.
Cultural dancers set the stage before Mugabi emerged to open with “People of the Land,” drawing the first wave of screams. From there, the hits kept coming; Mumbejja, Abamuzibe, Aka Number, with the crowd singing along to nearly every word, while a choreographed performance of My Woman brought the song to life on stage.
By the time he picked up his Endingidi, the audience had already sung its way through Nambi, People of the Land, and Ijondarire, but the traditional instrument signalled the night was about to climb another gear.
Mugabi slowed the pace to honour his late mother, performing a spoken word piece set to music as a tribute to her memory. “Today being my birthday, I want to honor my late mother. She supported me and believed in my dream, so to honour her I wrote this poem for her,” he said.
Host Richard Tuwangye, gave the crowd a comic break, with performances from Eduardo Kayondo, Eli Songs and Nuel Murungi who keeping the momentum going before Mugabi returned with Kibun’omu, once again handed entirely to the crowd to sing.
The surprises kept coming. Tanzanian-Ugandan Artist Mad Ice took to the stage and performed, Nkwagala Nyo Mukwano, before Naava Grey took the stage to a roar from the crowd, performing Nteredde and Ninga Omuloge, and joining Mugabi for their collaboration Owuwo. She then turned the moment into a birthday party, inviting four fans on stage to help cut Mugabi’s cake.
“This was a perfect way to close my week. I am here enjoying my favourite artists’ songs and I couldn’t be happier,” said Specioza Nambi, a reveller at the concert.
Away from the stage, guests posed for photos at the V&A Sherry backdrop and sipped on the sherry liqueur and its cocktails throughout the evening.
Speaking about the event Roy Ronald Tumwizere, Brand Manager V&A, at UBL said, “As V&A, we chose to support Kenneth Mugabi because his music aligns with the values we hold so dear — love and shared moments. So supporting him came naturally for us.”
Mugabi later expressed gratitude to V&A and the concert’s other sponsors for supporting his journey.
His music, as always, carried more than melody- threads of sustainability, safe sex, education, literacy and good societal values ran beneath the entertainment.
For the finale, Mugabi returned with Naki, Sanyu, Muvubuka, Underwraps, and Nkwegomba, the crowd dancing and singing every word back to him, phones still raised as the energy inside Ndere refused to drop.
By the time he left the stage, the audience had danced itself tired, though judging by the noise that followed, many would gladly have stayed for an extra hour. It was the kind of night where the songs did not belong to the singer alone. For a few hours at Ndere, they belonged to everyone who came.
