Last dance in Nairobi

The main event was called "Benga Blast 2009" and featured an afternoon of performances at the Nyayo soccer stadium by a selection of the Kenyan bands that are reviving the benga style that we in the West began hearing back in the early days of the African music boom in the '80s -- D.O. Misiani and Shirati Jazz for example. It has a rootsy "countrified" sound to my ears, without the gloss of soukous (what they call lingala music or rumba in Kenya), sung in Luo or Kikuyu, and if producers like Tabu Osusa keep up the good work it could be the next big thing in the world music world. Samba was warmly welcomed as befit his legendary status and long popularity in Kenya, and ran through a selection of his best-loved hits for the crowd. Here are some links to local press coverage of the festival: here and again from Daily Nation,
On Monday we bid farewell to Nairobi and set forth before dawn on our first leg of the journey home.