Tarrus Riley and Etana Concert a huge Success


Reggae music concerts, especially in Kenya, have been branded as a hub of hooliganism, theft and harassment of the highest level in the entertainment industry.
Most people who go to the concerts with their valuables often go home without them after having being forcefully relieved by hooligans calling themselves reggae fans.


But last weekend, the Tarrus Riley and Etana concert held at the Carnivore grounds opened another chapter of reggae history in the Kenyan entertainment scene. Expensive phones, iPads and digital cameras were all up during the concert, filming and taking photos of performance after performance, something that almost never happens.

The revellers who walked into the grounds were not your regular hooligans smelling night club violence in downtown clubs but those who frequent uptown clubs. With over 3,000 people attending the concert last weekend, the Tarrus Riley and Etana show passes as one of the best organised reggae concerts in Kenya in a long while.

The question is, was this influenced by the fact that reggae has moved from downtown clubs and the slums to up-market or did the organisers just decide to take the necessary measures to make the event worthwhile?

Tarrus and Etana
According to Big Tunes Festival of Music, the Australia-based promoters and event management company that brought Tarrus and Etana to Nairobi last weekend, there were 258 security guards manning the event. Other than the normal club bouncers present at the venue, there were a total number of 40 police officers, some with sniffer dogs, traffic police and others who maintained general security in the place.
“As we organised the event from day one, the most important thing that we had in mind is the safety of every person who will attend the event,” says Otieno Makochieng of Big Tunes Festival of Music.
“We have organised many events in Australia, and we have always maintained that the very first thing to take care of is the safety of the person who will come to support our event and the musicians we bring on stage. They must be comfortable and enjoy the show without fear.”

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