Nairobi News

Chillax

How Koroga Festival went down at Hell’s Gate National Park – PHOTOS

By Thomas Matiko February 17th, 2020 2 min read

Revelers we indeed spoilt for choice last weekend with several events happening in and around Nairobi; from Jamaican reggae star Buju Banton’s concert at the KICC Grounds, to the Love Is a Funny thing event at Kiza lounge, the Valentines Jamboree at Uhuru Grounds and the Koroga Festival at Naivasha Hell’s Gate National Park.

Nonetheless a huge number of revelers decided to do the 88km journey from Nairobi to Naivasha to attend the 28th edition of the Koroga Festival.

TRIP TO NAIVASHA

This was evident by the large number of vehicles which were on the road on Saturday heading to Naivasha.

With Ochungulo Family, Nadia Mukami and hardcore rapper Khaligraph Jones having put the crowd on a good mood on day one Friday, Saturday was expected to be better with Tanzanian heartthrob Diamond Platnumz, Hart_The Band and Mugithi maestro Mike Rua lined up for the concert.

Nairobi News too made the two-hour trip to the event. Save for the long walk of about one kilometer from the Hell’s Gate entrance to the venue, the stage set up and domes for the attendance were all well set.

DJ Hypnotic works up the crowd during the 28th edition of Koroga Festival at Hell's Gate national Park in Naivasha. PHOTO | THOMAS MATIKO.
DJ Hypnotic works up the crowd during the 28th edition of Koroga Festival at Hell’s Gate national Park in Naivasha. PHOTO | THOMAS MATIKO.

Food vendors were on stand by for the hungry ones and for the ‘thirsty’ ones, EABL’s flagship brand Tusker – one of the perennial sponsors of the event – was there too to quench their thirst.

On the the decks DJ Hypnotic did a good job to hype up the crowd of more than 3000 people with some good vibe chilled music as he played mostly Kenyan music.

First to go on stage was Mike Rua – with guitar in hand – got the party started as he sang his raunchy Kikuyu lyrics.

Mike Rua on stage at the 28th edition of Koroga Festival at Hell's Gate national Park in Naivasha. PHOTO | THOMAS MATIKO.
Mike Rua on stage at the 28th edition of Koroga Festival at Hell’s Gate national Park in Naivasha. PHOTO | THOMAS MATIKO.

Then Hart_The Band took the stage.

Truth be told, the three member band of guitarist Kenneth Muya, spoken word artiste Wachira Gatama and vocalist Mordecai Mwingi gave a terrific performance back with a live band.

Hart_The Band breathed life to every song they performed with the live band which sent the entire crowd into a frenzy. Their energy on the stage was incredible as they synchronized very well with the live band.

Hart_The Band performs on stage at the 28th edition of Koroga Festival at Hell's Gate national Park in Naivasha. PHOTO | THOMAS MATIKO.
Hart_The Band performs on stage at the 28th edition of Koroga Festival at Hell’s Gate national Park in Naivasha. PHOTO | THOMAS MATIKO.

The man of the hour, Diamond Platnumz, took the stage with a live band at around 11:30pm. Big mistake!

Despite having three hours to do his thing, Diamond was the disappointment of the night. His attempt to perform with a live band backfired as most of the time he fell off key.

Fans enjoying themselves during the 28th edition of Koroga Festival at Hell's Gate national Park in Naivasha. PHOTO | THOMAS MATIKO.
Fans enjoying themselves during the 28th edition of Koroga Festival at Hell’s Gate national Park in Naivasha. PHOTO | THOMAS MATIKO.

It was clear that he hadn’t rehearsed enough for the live performance with a band.

However, he tried to redeem himself with some silky dance moves and at some point went topless exposing his rippled torso that drove his female fans crazy.

Fans walk to the venue of the 28th edition of Koroga Festival at Hell's Gate national Park in Naivasha. PHOTO | THOMAS MATIKO.
Fans walk to the venue of the 28th edition of Koroga Festival at Hell’s Gate national Park in Naivasha. PHOTO | THOMAS MATIKO.