Naira Marley Announces Online Marlian Day Concert

By Vanessa Obioha

Due to the coronavirus pandemic that prevented the influential musician Naira Marley from making his debut at the popular music and culture festival, Gidi Fest in April, a free online concert for Marlian Day has been scheduled for Saturday, May 30.

According to a statement made available by the organisers, “Marlian Day celebrates our liberty and our resilience through the daily challenges we face in Nigeria and most recently during the Covid-19 crisis. Most especially the heroic front line workers making personal sacrifices daily on behalf of Nigeria and humanity.”

Since the coronavirus upended music tours and concerts, many musicians have turned to social media and online platforms to create experiences and connect with fans. Notable examples include Canadian rapper Tory Lanez’s Live social distancing tour earlier this month, and Andrea Bocelli’s Music for Hope: Live from the Duomo in Milan. In the same vein, Naira Marley will be bringing the live concert experience from an iconic monument in Lagos to his fans at home.

“Naira Marley shows an early indication of the festival’s London-Lagos connection and there is a natural synergy between his fans, Marlians and The Gidi Tribe. They are the new African generation who refuse to take no for an answer and are challenging the status quo to uplift themselves and push forward. His adaptability, controversial lyrics and autonomy has made him one of the most sought-after artists in Africa,” reads the statement.

Fans can watch the one-hour live concert (6:30-7:30 pm) on Naira Marley’s YouTube channel and Gidi Fest Facebook page as the artiste will perform some of his hit tracks like ‘Soapy’, ‘Tesumole’, ‘Opotoyi’ as well as feature special guests WurlD and Zlatan alongside Marlian Music artists, Zinolesky, Moh Bad and Cblvck.

The show, which is produced by Eclipse Live, is a collaboration between Gidi Fest and Marlian Music.