The tenth edition of the Nyege Nyege International Festival took place at Adrift River Club, Kalagala Falls along the River Nile over the weekend.

This year’s edition had opened on Thursday on a quieter note than the past, for instance, there wasn’t a politician or religious leader trying to have the festival banned and neither were there raunchy videos being shared from the grounds as the whole thing went on.

Hosting more than 100 acts across the four days, Nyege Nyege had a lot to prove with this year’s edition, especially after the two forgettable editions at the Jinja Golf Course.

This time, for the first time since 2019, the festival roamed to a venue out of Jinja; Nile Discovery was out of Jinja but could be called Jinja by proximity, Adrift or Kalagala Falls is totally out of Jinja, the venue could even be accessed without needing Jinja at all.

For the first time again, Nyege Nyege’s curation was edged towards the otherness of music as opposed to what’s pop and mainstream. The festival curated less singers, but opted for DJs, something that was slowly dying out, especially on their mainstage.

From Skrillex, a highly anticipated DJ performance to Uganda’s Suna Ben or Lynda Ddane, the festival let the DJs own the nights as opposed to some singer or rapper.

Plus, the DJs were balanced out to create a balanced scheme, where Lynda Ddane for instance went hard on Amapiano Vibes on the mainstage, she would be balanced out by DJ Bugy whose set was more Kampala friendly. But there were also stages such as the Ubuntu Vibes where literally anything was playing.

This is what had made Nyege Nyege a massive success over the years, not overly curved out of superstar appearances, but a festival where creatives of different disciplines came together to showcase what made them different.

Saturday, as most of the editions, was the biggest day, the biggest turn up and literally the craziest.

With a world reknowned DJ Skrillex set to take the desks, there was a wave of excitement from the international audience, who this year may have cemented Nyege Nyege’s position as Uganda’s biggest tourism event, yet the locals were looking out for Suna Ben.

And eventually, Suna Ben was the highlight.

For many Ugandans, there’s probably a lot we may not know how to articulate about Suna Ben, his style of play, charisma and probably the love he gets, but the one thing that can’t be unmistakable is his ability to shape culture on the turntable.

Even with more than two acts in waiting before Suna Ben took to the main stage, the audience was eager to see him, some had started breaking tree branches rehearsing for his closing act.

As his do came closer, the more branches the audience gathered, not white or black revellers, a branch was like a mark of honour.

Under the river breeze and the festival’s controlled wildness, his performance became the unofficial declaration that Nyege Nyege had tapped back into its roots: community, originality, and unfiltered authenticity. For all the noise around Skrillex and the international crowd, it was Suna Ben who captured the soul of the night who turned a set into a cultural rallying point, who made broken tree branches feel like ceremonial batons of belonging.

By the time he wrapped, sweaty, smiling, and triumphant, the entire space felt transformed. It wasn’t just a good set. It was a homecoming. A reminder of why Ugandan DJs remain the heartbeat of the festival.

However, even when Nyege Nyege at ten was a success, as all events, there were mishaps.

The ticketing being on top of the list; picture this, tickets were verified from Wandegeya and revellers left their cars their onto a festival shuttle taking you as far as the National Theatre for the festival.

Much as this seemed smooth on arrival, at the end of each day, revellers found themselves fighting and entering shuttles through the windows because their numbers were overwhelming for the few shuttles picking up already tired bodies.

It wasn’t very surprising that one revellers noted; “it was a good experience only to be treated like a peasant at the end of it all.”

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