He is one of the most popular African artistes of our time but you will not appreciate the true power of his music until you hear him perform live.

Ismael Lo is arguably one of the greatest African musicians, in the league of Salif Keita, Oliver Mtukudzi or Baaba Maal and his presence at the KigaliUp Music Festival proved his might as a music legend.

The 56-year old Senegalese artiste was one of the foreign performers who graced the second KigaliUp Music Festival recently at Amahoro National Stadium.

There is no doubt that Lo is one of the greatest live performers in Africa. When he steps on the stage, the traditional Senegalese “Mbalax” singer will engage the crowd from the first song to the last along with his back-up band, Lo leaves a spell on his audience.

Clad in traditional West African garb, Lo balanced his excellent vocal and percussion powers with the guitar, the harmonica and at some point the keyboard, to the delight of the audience.

The serious-faced musician knows how to involve the crowd in his performance, a fact that proves his international credentials.

Luckily enough, a considerable section of the crowd knew most of his songs, mostly the ones in French.

The singer performed singles from his latest album Senegal, including Ma Fille, Tajabone, as well as hits off his 2001 album Dabah, including L’Amour a Tous and Les Droits among others.

When he finished performing around 10pm, there was an air of satisfaction as the crowd headed home.

The second edition of KigaliUp was graced by a number of foreign artistes including American blues singer Corey Harris, who made his debut performance in Rwanda, Ma3 from Kenya, and Steven Sogo and gospel maverick Fortrand from Burundi.

“I am glad to be here and very honoured to perform in Rwanda — a country which signifies hope for Africa. I met several musicians here with lots of experience and I was made to believe that KigaliUp festival has a great future,” said Harris, who has a collabo with the late legend Ali Farka Toure.

The festival also saw great performances from local artistes including Abdoul Makanyaga and his band, gospel singer Gaby Kamanzi, Jay Polly, Rafiki, Bulldog, Tom Close, King James, Kamichi and Belgium-based band Ingenzi.

According to the organiser of the festival — the award winning Rwandan —Canadian artiste- Mighty Popo — though Rwandans are yet to fully embrace the concept of the festival, it will one day grow as big as FESPAD, the biggest musical festival in Rwanda.

“It’s a combination of art, music you cannot find anywhere and the concept of family enjoyment that make KigaliUp different from other music festivals. The majority of Rwandans don’t believe that you can go to a show where the performances begin at 1pm and not at 8pm in the night.

“The aim of this festival is to promote Rwandan music and artistes by giving them a chance to share the same stage with international artistes, which gives them exposure and also promotes the culture of family fun while exploring art and culture at the same time,” Mighty Popo says.

In comparison to last year, this year’s edition of KigaliUp was a huge success. The music was off the hook, the sound great and the list of performers well worth the money.

The turn out, despite the last minute change of venue from Primature roundabout to Amahoro National Stadium, was impressive; and if it was anything to go by, next year’s edition will be even bigger.