Anticipated Kenya Festival Cancelled

Kenyans might not be interested in supporting local artists as much as many had initially assumed or, local organisers might just be on the wrong bus.

A concert that was meant to bring all Kenyan artists together has been cancelled due to poor ticket sales.

Hype Fest Festival, scheduled for April 27 and 28 at the Ngong Racecourse, has been called off after selling less than 100 tickets according to reliable sources in the entertainment industry.

The festival, which was set to have Khaligraph Jones, Naiboi, Ochungulo family, The Kansoul, Kapela, Tint and Croco na Cuga among others, has ended up disappointing the organisers, having failed to attract not only the anticipated crowd, but also the required buzz on both traditional and social media.

Hype Fest with an all Kenyan line up is now officially cancelled due to low ticket sales. Hype Festival expected traction having been announced at a time when Kenyan artists and local media were having a heated debate on why local content isn’t getting the support it deserves.

In the end, Kenyans vowed to improve the industry by supporting one of their own, and ditching their Nigerian-and-Bongo infested music playlists.

  
 
 
 
 
 
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 Regular ticket prices for both individual and group tickets! Head on over @ticketsasa to get them and save 500 bob! @thehypefest
 
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Two months later, nothing much has changed.  DJs, TV and radio presenters are back to their non-Kenyan playlists and artists are left scratching their heads trying to come up with a permanent solution.

Hype Fest, the company behind Hype Festival, might have automatically assumed that the concert will be a home run following the heated arguments.

Industry players also believe a poor marketing strategy was a major reason why the concert failed as the company never bothered to set aside a convincing budget for promotion. A brewing court case might be another reason why Kenyans never really got a chance to enjoy their favorite local artists.

“The moment there was beef between the organisers and some artistes after the Ngoma 254, there has been issues. Ngoma Fest was very successful.

When the organizers went to court, the one who eventually took the name held the event and it ended up being a flop plus more divisions,” said Fundi Frank, a veteran in Fashion and events.

“Another all Kenyan lineup event was hurriedly organized by Tusker in Dec at Railway Club. It had a good lineup of big old sch n New School acts but it got like 10 people paying.

The divisions n infighting gets to the fans. Sad but true. Trend has also changed so people need to go back to the drawing board” added Fundi Frank.