“The power that music holds is undeniable.” This is exactly what was running through our minds as we listened and watched musician after musician on stage solo or as a group singing or playing the guitar, violin, keyboard or trumpet. Last Wednesday, the Kenya Conservatoire of Music and Kenya Breweries Ltd through their beer brand Tusker Malt jointly put together the first of many fantastic nights of live acoustic music dubbed the “Fret Ventures Series ”.
Formerly known as Acoustic Alchemy, the Fret Ventures Series began in 2011 as an informal recital session at the Kenya Conservatoire of Music primarily aimed at offering students a professional platform to display the skills they have gained at the Kenya Conservatoire of Music. Since then, concerts under the Fret Ventures Series have been held at different venues including the Alliance Francaise Wangari Maathai auditorium, the Louis Leakey auditorium, the Brearburn Theatre and most recently at the Kenya National Theatre.
The night kicked off at 6:30pm at the Kenya National Theater reception where guests gathered to mingle and enjoy some beer or beer cocktails before proceeding to the auditorium to take in the music Manaseh Uzele, a number of talented vocalists such as Vereso Music and the Fret Venture Chamber had put on for us.
Lights, camera, action! After all the guests were seated the stage lit up and it was finally the moment we had all been waiting for. The theme of the night “Do Not Fret” recurred in the choice of songs as the MCs reminded us of the crazy two years we have collectively been through. The vibrant group of musicians then took us through a journey; starting off with some sultry classic instrumental jams, love songs, their own compositions and more then on to some more up beat jams.
Another highlight was everytime the legendary guitar teacher Manaseh took the stage to share some gems on the history of music genres such as blues cracking some jokes while at it. “Do you all know scales? Of course without scales you have no skills.” We got to learn that the scale with the most minimum number of notes is the blues scale. The lessons got deeper and harder for us to comprehend but it was a joy to watch and listen to Manaseh.
Tusker has been a key supporter of the Kenyan Music scene for a long time now as manifested in the various initiatives they have been involved in as a brand. Tusker’s partnership with the Kenya Conservatoire of Music is therefore part of their continued commitment to support the industry and we can’t wait to be a part of more such FINE nights and highly recommend you look out for the next event.
Written by: Leilah Namisango
