Culture Caravan gets love in Kasoa

Kasoa and James Town brought the close of the first leg of the Culture Caravan to a successful end as thousands of people thronged the former Kasoa Market Square on May 2 and the forecourt of the James Town Manste Palace on May 3 respectively, to watch some of their favourite artistes perform in the stage musical.

Although the initial reaction from the crowd at both locations was one of surprise, they soon came around and enjoyed the various stories as they unfolded on the well-crafted amidst dazzling lights and video projections in the background, reflecting the setting of each scene. Whenever Reggie Rockstone, Kwaw Kesse, Wanlov and King Ayisoba came on stage for their scene, the crowd would go berserk and these levels would increase further whenever these stars performed their music in the play.

The first leg which toured Takoradi, Elmina, Kasoa and Jamestown was a huge success in terms of the huge crowd that showed up at all venues, however the crowd from Kasoa stands out due to the amazing response they gave to the show throughout the duration. In fact, at Kasoa, even after the show had ended, the artist did some unrehearsed freestyle dancing and rapping for the crowd.

Meanwhile, in an interview with the BBC World Service ahead of the Jamestown show, Panji Anoff, producer of the Culture Caravan described the show as a revival of the Concert Party format, integrating popular music. “The reason why the concert parties were unable sustain themselves was that a new form of music based around rap came along and they didn't know how to integrate that into their performances”, Panji commented.

The second leg of the Culture Caravan will resume on May 7 in Kumasi, Jubilee Grounds; Fri. 8th May, Koforidua, Jackson Park ; Sat. 9th May, Nkawkaw Ofori Park; and Sun. 10th May, Obuasi Black Park