THE YAM CARNIVAL FINALLY ROCKS LONDON

September 3, 2021

THE YAM CARNIVAL FINALLY ROCKS LONDON

After being postponed a couple of times last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Yam Carnival finally went live in London on Saturday, August 28^th. The star-studded carnival, which had over 15,000 people attending, was held at the Clapham Common park from 11 am to 11 pm.

The event had three stages with different performance lists. The Afrotronic Stage had Honey Dijon, Richy Ahmed, Virgo Deep, DJ Jeff, among others performing.

The Afrika Shrine Alive stage had artists like Koffee, Stonebwoy, IamDDB and Nesta performing.

However, the main Carnival stage was star-studded with artists like Omah Lay, Patoranking, Ms Banks, Darkoo, NSG, Yemi Alade and Jamaica’s dancehall legend Beenie Man.

Nigerian superstar and multi-award winning artist Davido was the show stopper at the main Carnival stage. Dressed in an all-white outfit, Davido went on stage shortly after 10 pm and performed hits after hits to the end of the carnival, which ended in a spectacular fireworks display.

The event was well organized, with clear guidelines on ticketing and what wristbands could do for you. The VIP and press areas were close to the stage, and the security personnel at the event were ready to guide everyone at every point. As expected in every carnival, there were several food spots and bars to serve the massive crowd.

However, things didn’t go as planned or expected on stage at the main Carnival, as technical hitches were witnessed as far as sound was concerned.

The first artist to highlight the hitch was Beenie Man, who demanded that the sound be higher as he was on stage. This prompted the organizers to shift some of the speakers to make them sound better. It later worked well for the Jamaican star and Yemi Alade, but not so good with Kehlani and showstopper Davido. In fact, Kehlani was forced to cut short her performance due to sound issues. Even though Davido had a great performance with a live band, he was still struggling at some point. He still managed to go with the show and close the concert in style.

In between the performances, the hosts Eddie Kadi and Shpsydoo kept the crowd entertained all through, as the DJs Manny Norte and Edott kept the music going on and on.

Lastly, stay up to date with all you need to know about African music at SOA, right here.

THE YAM CARNIVAL FINALLY ROCKS LONDON