or: A Free Concert In Mauritius

One of the 974 things I like about Mauritius is the  free concerts which attract household names.

I attended Fet Lamizik La at the waterfront in Port Louis earlier this week. It was in the newly renovated forecourt area and had a water display behind it which lit up during some of the songs. Pretty impressive especially considering this was all free. Not only that, there were two screens to the side of the stage so everyone could clearly see what was going on regardless of where they happened to be standing.

Playing there in the drizzly rain were some of Mauritius’s well known singers and bands. It was awesome! I’d heard many of the songs over the two and a half years I’ve been visiting and not had a clue what some of these people looked like or what their other music was (except for The Prophecy who was at the Dive Centre one day… that’s another story). I have heard enough now to know that my music collection will be expanding.

Many of the acts were collaborations, shared each others’ songs and bantered inbetween songs. Given my understanding of Creole is still minimal at best, it was more the music I was interested in. That said, quite a few acts also played some English covers with a distinctly Mauritiuan twist. These included songs by the Police and even Tears for Fears! I’m still humming the tunes.

Fusion music at its best.

 

* Thanks to  The Drifters for the title to this post.