By Reagan Ssempijja
This year’s Easter eve was one curated for the lovers of house music and what is lately commonly referred to as Amapiano music.
At a ten-year old music do dubbed Full Moon Rave, held at Nature’s Green Resort in Busaabala, fans thronged in excitedly, in anticipation of the long-lost Nyege Nyege sulk. Yes, Nyege Nyege.
This was so because, from the entrance to the stage, it felt like a mini-Nyege Nyege festival, so to speak.
With the venue already looking like some kind of jungle, the organisers, Tusker Lite and Talent Africa Group, lit up the place with colour and décor depictive of both picnic and wildness, depending on what kind of reveller you were.
The event was one for revellers to experiment with outfits, as attention of many moved from which DJ was playing, to which other weird outfit they were going to see next.
Fashion spread to tattooing, neon face painting, and later, in the wee hours of the night, dancing some clothes off. Indeed, it was a rave.
Revellers at the Full Moon Rave party at Nature’s Green Resort in Busaabala. Photo by Reagan Ssempijja
By 4:00pm, house music by rather unfamiliar, but revered DJs from across Africa was already filling up the area.
Speaking about DJs, this year’s edition was largely theirs; with over 20 of them bringing their A-game in turning up the party, under full glow of the moon.
For revellers who expected performances from common Ugandan musicians, this was going to be a disappointment.
One of the notable names was DJ Zahara Toto, trading as DJ Zato. She hit the stage at 7:00pm with a not-so-authentic house music mix, but quite entertaining.
She had done her prep for the show right. With hype from MCs Jowkwiz and Sheila Saltofte, she actually enlivened a crowd that had at some point been swamped up by playing cards, Ping-Pong games, and alcohol.
Other DJs included Melodic Inversions, Soul Tribe, Hola Jefe, Little Black Kid, Reign Drops and Flo.
Celebrity revellers like Irene Ntale, Alex Muhangi, The Mith, Deedan, and Selector Jay were also in place to have a blast.
And, indeed, some of them like Ntale were seen having some good fun.
The show had two stages, one for the main performances from DJs, and the other, set up in a balloon-like structure, for those revellers who just did not want to be in the open.
The show went on till early morning of Easter Sunday, and in a nutshell, one would say it was a well put-up show, from production, lighting, and set-up delivery from performers.
The Full Moon Rave, an idea borrowed from Thailand, seeks to give revellers the experience of a music party under the full glow of the moon, in the middle of the night.
