Country Profile: Ghana

From its grassroots in highlife music and local church bands to becoming a central stage and tourist attraction for international acts, Ghana has done well to insert itself as a key destination for live music in Africa, especially with global festivals like Afro Nation.

“We elevated a venue everybody had written off,” says Ruddy Kwakye, whose company, The Rave Group, is responsible for bringing the festival to life.

Kwakye says the past five years in Ghana’s live music scene have been pivotal “in shaping our current form, but infrastructure remains a concern. We still don’t have an arena or a 15,000-capacity venue that is purpose-built for live music. The biggest indoor venue is a 25,000-seater church in Kumasi, but it’s a church,” he says.

“We elevated a venue everybody had written off”

Promoters have to make do with tents, hotels, and temporary outdoor spaces. It’s an inventive solution but hardly ideal for high-capacity international tours. This is further complicated by the fact that churches, which boast some of the best audio-visual setups in the country, are often the only available venues for large-scale events.

However, [secular] promoters struggle to book these spaces due to scheduling conflicts and religious considerations.

Despite these setbacks, Ghana remains a compelling destination for international acts.

“We’ve got a bread-and-butter economy, and when things get tough, it’s harder to justify raising ticket prices”

“Artists want to go to South Africa because the money is there, and there’s direct support; they want to go to Nigeria because of the population size; but when you come to Ghana, you get a combination of the two,” says Kwakye. This is why artists like Chance the Rapper settled on Ghana for his festival.

Kwakye also stresses the importance of artist engagement with the Ghanaian market. “Nothing sells a show out or gives it credibility like when the talent does a video … and just says, ‘I am coming,’” he explains, citing a history of scam concerts that have bred mistrust among audiences.

“People need to feel like the artist is actually coming before they commit.”

“People need to feel like the artist is actually coming before they commit.” He recalls: “Though Cardi B performed in Lagos, the Cardi B that people remember is the Cardi B in Accra.” This underscores Ghana’s penchant for drawing international acts who are well-engaged.

“There’s an explosive hunger for live music, and once we get the infrastructure in place, we’ll be able to put on more shows and keep the economy turning,” Kwakye concludes.

Charterhouse, Tata House, Afro-future Boys, and Culture Management Group are other promoters in the Ghanaian market.