Rhythm In The Rainforest


After almost two months of waiting impatiently, Facebooking and Tweeting to within an inch of my life, the day was finally here.  Rhythm in the Rainforest, billed as the only event to bring people, music and nature together.

I could barely contain my excitement as I boarded the bus that was to take us into Mabira forest.  After waiting almost an hour for Deno and Hakeem (more on that later), we hit the road.   Thankfully the traffic wasn’t as bad as we’d expected, considering that we landed right in the middle of the Saturday lunchtime rush.  Or maybe I was just too excited to notice.

Finally, we arrived at the Rainforest Lodge.  It was all I could do not to fling myself off the bus and run screaming into the forest to frolic with the monkeys.  (It has been said that my FOMO*  is legendary.)  



The extremely friendly and helpful Rainforest staff met us right off the bus and led us straight to the bar, bless them. We were very thirsty travellers, after all.

As I walked past the reception and up the steps to the restaurant, I heard leaves rustling in the trees, felt the breeze in my hair and nearly got lost in the moment… until I realized that the rush of air I’d just felt was just Deno and Hakeem flying past me on their way to the bar.

Let me explain about Deno and Hakeem.  Having been on a bender the night before, their body clocks were set at least two hours behind the rest of us, meaning they had to make their way to the bus at a break-neck speed, having forgotten the departure time.  The less said about that the better.

The excitement REALLY kicked in when I saw the stage where Ife Piankhi and Evon were going to perform.  I’m a huge fan of these talented ladies and just couldn’t wait for the show to start.

I was shown to my gorgeous room to drop my bags and freshen up.  Stepping onto the balcony, I heard the strains of the Novell Band starting up and hurried to get ready and head back downstairs.  Did I mention that we were slap-bang in the middle of a rainforest?  I kept looking out for Red Tail monkeys and Hyraxes… Speaking of which, we never did decide what the plural of Hyrax is.  Just know that those things can scream up a storm and are pretty vicious, considering the fact that they look like the cute distant cousins of your friendly neighbourhood Disney squirrel.  Oh, and they’re related to elephants.  But that’s for another article.  I digress.

Don't let my cute face fool you...

So, back down I went to find the show and BBQ in full swing.  I think it’s safe to say that I ate my weight in vegetable kebabs, they were that good.  The food was delicious and the chefs so generous with their helpings that it was almost criminal.  I still can’t bring myself to hate them for the fact that I haven’t been able to fit into my favourite jeans since that weekend.

Ife Piankhi hit the stage first.  Looking as regal as you please with a scarf wrapped around her head, Ife transported us with an energetic and engaging performance of spoken word and song.  She is so magnetic on stage, smiling all the while and dancing, and when she catches your eye, you feel like she is singing just for you.



Next on the stage was Geo Lodges’ Emily, who got the crowd to make some rather interesting animal noises.  Emily and I had been tweeting for about three weeks, and in our excitement couldn’t help but ‘WOOP!’ every time we chatted about the concert.  The hash-tags #Woop and #RITRF became standard fare on Twitter- we even got the crowd to WOOP! Great stuff.

Emily whoopin' hollerin' and gettin' merry like Christmas


Next up was Evon.  I first heard Evon’s unique voice on Xfm 94.8- her collaboration with Baboon Forest’s Big Trill ‘Inside Outside’ is a popular request on the station, not to mention a banging tune.  When I first met her I was totally bowled over by how down-to-earth she is and seemingly unaware of her talent.  If I could sing like her, I wouldn’t even bother speaking, I’d be singing ALL THE TIME.  

Evon on the mic one time... two time...


Evon performed some of her own songs- Big Blue Boots went down a storm with the crowd, as did Still Ugandan, which actually brought some of the crowd to tears.  I almost lost my mind when she performed Wonderwall by Oasis, and when she sang Hometown Glory by Adele, I had to keep reminding myself that jumping up and down like a demented person is not becoming of a lady.  (I did it anyway.   But please don’t tell my Mum).

The crowd was on it’s feet the whole time, and when Evon handed over to the Novell Band, it was all over.  Everyone was dancing, we even did the shuffle!  

Ugandans. We hear Ndihamba Nawe and lose our minds


We were all floored when the band segued seamlessly from Show Me The Way by Papa Wemba to Party Rock by LMFAO!!  If that’s not talent, then I don’t know what is.  These kids are the ones to watch, trust me.

By 7.30pm, the music was done, but the fun continued well into the night.  We ate (yes, again), drank and sat in the restaurant singing Disney songs (bizarre, I know. But how often to you get to chill in a rainforest?).  Our friends heading back to Kampala left us reluctantly, and all anyone could talk about was ‘When is the next one?’

When I finally retired to my room, tired but deliriously happy, I felt so priviledged to have experienced such a unique event, surrounded by old and new friends (not to mention Tweeps and Facebook pals) and in such a perfect setting.  If you haven’t been to the Rainforest Lodge, what the hell are you waiting for?  We have such a beautiful country, just waiting to be explored.



It was so hard to leave the next day, but I know I’ll definitely be back.  So until the next RITRF (that’s Rhythm In The Rainforest, by the way), listen out for a rumble in the jungle.  #WOOP!!


* FOMO- Fear Of Missing Out

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