Line-up SAMOSA 2012: Sidi Goma, Dhol Xtasy, The Slum Drummers and YOU!

The week-long SAMOSA festival is back! This year (2012) it will be taking place from 22nd September to 29th September 2012.

Two 1-day workshops will be held at the GoDown Arts Centre on the 20th and 21st of September. These will offer the youth from Mathare, Kangemi and Kibera a chance to experiment with music and poetry.

On 22nd September, the Sidi Gomas, a group of Sidi musicians from Gujrat, India will make their inaugural performance in Kenya at the Alliance Francaise. ”These African-Indian sufis have maintained their cultural link to Africa through ritual dances and music. Their performance will showcase a cultural interconnection that contributes to Kenya’s unique triple heritage,” Farrah Nurani SAMOSA 2012 Festival Director.

On September 23rd, a cricket tournament at the Karura Forest. This will be the third event, and it is aimed at enhancing youth participation and bringing together various community groups. This is being organised by SAMOSA Play.

SAMOSA’s Mobile Cinema will run for 3 days from 24th September to 26th September in Mathare, Kangemi and Kibera. In it being run in conjunction with Informaction, a civic education organisation -established by Maina Kiai, the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association-. SAMOSA Mobile Cinema will showcase films depicting various positive cross cultural themes. The films will be shown to the public, and local entertainment groups will perform prior to the film show as part of the festivities.

Mid week of the festivities, on Tuesday 25th September 2012, the festival will present a theatre production Tides at the KNT. (Kenya National Theatre) The production will depict various cultural responses to corruption in Kenya. Tides is written by BBC award winner and internationally acclaimed playwright Kuldip Sondhi.

The Festival then moves on to two customised productions/presentations. The first is Hadithi. Hadithi explores the ancient art of cultural storytelling, bringing oral literature to a new generation and expressing oral storytelling traditions in a modern light. It will feature prominent Kenyan poets who will interpret these traditional and ancient expressions into Slam! Poetry and music, bringing together the two artistic forms in a culmination of adaptive artistry. The show is set in the Courtyard of the Kenya National Theatre.

The second customised production is the Concert in the Forest:, SAMOSA String & Sculpture. This pre-finale event will be on 27th September at the club grounds in Karura Forest. It will be a blend of Asian, Western and African vocals as well as instruments -the nyatiti, obokano, orutu, violin, Indian santoor and guitar.

The festival’s grand finale is entitled Pigo la Moyo: the Heartbeat of Kenya is her People. It will be headlined by international act Sidi Goma featuring the Slum Drummers and Dhol Xtasy. It will be a highlight of African percussion, Asian dance and universal rhythym, celebrating the best of worldly culture, music and art. This promises to be an explosive finale to a multicultural festival that will include lots of engagement with the audience. The finale is centered around a patriotic theme: the Kenya Kwanza, Mkenya Daima and I am Proud To Be Kenyan are slated to strong carry out numerous activations and engage the audience in the finale.

This promises to be a festival with a little something for everyone. To find out more about the festival, the costing of different events and where you can buy the tickets check out the festival’s official website here.