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When Wizkid announced that the 2022 Flytime Fest, held on December 24, 2022, would be his last concert ever in Lagos, music enthusiasts were almost enraged at the decision.
Three weeks after that statement, he is backtracking, as he mentioned at the concert that he would be back to Lagos for free concerts only to repay the love his fans in Lagos have always shown him.
“When I said this was going to be my last show in Lagos – It’s as if I have to finish my sentence because they misquote me every day – what I really meant was with the kind of love that you people show me, it is very unfair for me to do shows around the world and come back and still make you guys pay.
“So I want to make a promise, this is the last time you’re ever going to pay to come to a Wizkid show,” Wizkid said.
However, this is not the first time he has made such a promise. In December 2021, at his Live Concert in Abuja, where fans had expected a world-class performance, fans were mad when he arrived at 3 am for a concert slated for 4 pm.
“Wizkid: As we all know, Wizkid did not perform until 3 in the morning”, Mietei Ikoli, who was at the Abuja Concert Live, mentioned in a thread of tweets as she detailed her experience at the concert.
Following the delay, the Grammy-winning artiste also had to end his performance 30 minutes after his arrival at 3 am due to poor sound quality with a promise of a free show.
“I’m coming back to Abuja to do a free show to make up for the poor sound quality. My next show in Abuja, I’m coming with my sound,” he said.
We spoke to Jerry Chiemeke, music and film critic, on what Wizkid’s announcement means for the Nigerian music industry stakeholders, which include the fans and event promoters. This is considering the fact that he is an artiste capable of selling out a 20,000-capacity stadium in 2 minutes outside of Africa.
“It’s one thing to show goodwill to your fans, but from one perspective, you have to look at period antecedents. Is Wizkid the kind of guy who means what he says? Has he not disappointed his fans on multiple occasions?
“Look at the Ghana incident and other incidents as well, even down to album release dates. Is Wizkid the kind of person you would take seriously? Did he say it in the heat of the moment or with a little influence of alcohol? It’s then up to the fans and the public to decide the level of weight they would attach to his words, but on the surface of it, it’s a kind gesture,” Jerry told Netng.
However kind this gesture might be to fans, it’s also a recipe for disaster. A week ago, music fans worldwide mourned the loss of two women – Rebecca Ikumelo and Gabrielle Hutchinson who died due to the stampede at Asake’s Brixton concert on December 17, 2022.
“Organising a paid show is bad in itself because you would look at the Asake fiasco in Brixton. People who didn’t have tickets still tried to enter, and people died. So organising a paid event is chaotic enough, let alone a free event involving Wizkid.
“Wizkid is a global brand. Imagine Wizkid doing a show in Lagos and everybody is supposed to be in Eko Hotel, and it’s free entry. We can’t imagine the chaos that would happen. So I think such an announcement is ill-timed and ill-advised,” Jerry added.
Are there venues capable of hosting a free concert for such a big artiste? Where are these venues, and are they properly linked to prevent stampedes? Can the place be secure enough for this concert to go down well without any issues? These are the questions that need to be answered.
“In 2021, there was this event that involved Ajebo Hustlers, Omah Lay, and Joeboy. It was a Smirnoff event which I registered for free. I was thinking it was going to be an intimate event where you won’t have a large crowd, so I went in, and people were struggling to get in by 11:45 pm. There was so much chaos,” Jerry told me.
One can conclude that the idea of a free show is not the best considering our climate and the reach of the artiste involved, but it’s not entirely impossible. On September 19, 2022, BTS, a South-Korean boy band known for their wide range of fans, ARMY, held a free concert at the Busan Asiad Main Stadium with over 52,000 fans in attendance and there was no incident, but does Nigeria have the capacity to keep a crowd in check like South Korea?
“A free show is going to be wild unless people can be assured of their security. It’s not exactly a bright idea, and considering what happens here in Nigeria at shows and considering Wizkid’s antecedents I don’t think anybody in their right mind should try it right now,” Jerry adds.
Although music critics have deemed the fulfillment of his promise unlikely from every perspective, Wizkid’s words might just still hold water. If the megastar does stick to his words, It wouldn’t only be an exciting time for the Wizkid FC fandom but also for Nigerian music lovers and Nigeria as a whole.
The post What Does Wizkid’s Promised Free Concert Mean For The Nigerian Music Industry? Music Critic Weighs In appeared first on Nigerian Entertainment Today.
Source: TheNet
