All Set For MOGO 2011 Concert Tomorrow

The 2011 edition of the annual Music of Ghanaian Origin (MOGO), organised by Citi 97.3 FM, comes off this weekend. Programmes Manager Jessica Opare-Soforo has told NEWS-ONE all is set to part the curtains on stage. �All is set for the show and I can tell you that the production team, the venue, the artistes, the rehearsals is underway, and everything you can think of is ready for this show. �This year would be different and of course better than the previous years because we have laced the performance list with both the known and somehow unknown faces. There are a lot of very good highlife musicians out there who are not in the lime light and have been in the shadows waiting to be exposed. We are bringing some of them as well as the Pat Thomas, the George Darkos, the Pozo Hayes, the Kwabena Kwabenas and someone like Adane best who has not appeared on stage for some time now yet is a very good performer. So it is a fusion and that is new,� Jessica told NEWS-ONE. Reports say concert tickets are selling fast at GH�50 at the various outlets including the MTN Office at Osu, Silverbird Lifestyle Store, Hotel Joe-Carl-Community 6, Tema, Zadol Mart-Community 18, Tema and the Front Desk of Citi Fm. The MOGO concert, which kicks off at exactly 7pm, will be held at the National Theater. Organisers on Tuesday night issued a statement on the event. �The biggest highlife concert on the Ghanaian entertainment calendar, the Music of Ghanaian Origin (MOGO), has metamorphosed into a 3-day comprehensive celebration and has now been christened the MOGO Festival. �The concert, which always comes off on Farmers Day, is in its 6th year and has always sought to celebrate good music brewed in the Ghanaian pot and also recognise the talented musicians who cooked it up. �This year, the MOGO Festival which comes in a triple package would officially open on Thursday December 1 with a forum for musicians and other stakeholders in the Ghanaian music industry. The program starts at 10:30 in the morning at the Citizen Kofi Entertainment Centre. �The MOGO forum would be a brainstorming and assessment platform where pertinent issues regarding the development of Ghana�s music industry will be extensively discussed. It is expected that practical and actionable resolutions will be reached at the end of it and these will be implemented as soon as possible in order to promote the highest standards of professionalism, creativity and excellence in Ghanaian music.� It would be coordinated by the organisers of the MOGO Festival, Citi 97.3 FM, in collaboration with the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA). Very seasoned speakers including the MUSIGA president, Bice Osei Kufuor (Obour), Carlos Sakyi and Moses Foh-Amoaning have been lined up for the forum which promises to be interactive and informative. There will also be a presentation on a brief history of Highlife music by veteran broadcaster Mike Eghan. The MOGO Festival is sponsored by MTN; �Everywhere you go� and is supported by Zenith Bank, Logistics Movers, MUSIGA, The Globe Newspaper. It is powered by Citi 97.3 FM. DAY 2: The MOGO Concert The concert of the ever thrilling Music of Ghanaian Origin MOGO Festival hits the stage of the National Theater Accra, on Farmers Day, Friday, December 2 with 10 of Ghana�s finest highlife gurus. The biggest highlife concert promises to be filled with fireworks as music lovers will get to witness an extraordinary showdown of pure highlife featuring gifted artistes of this genre. There is no better way to celebrate the farmers day holiday than to party with the likes of George Darko, CK Mann, Pozo Hayes, Nana Acheampong, K.K Kabobo, Dada KD, Nana Yaa and Adane Best. The artistes will be supported on the night by Kwame Yeboah and the �Ohia be ye ya� band. Come savour the flavour of the �old school� as patrons can be assured of great music, fabulous stage artistry and of course lots of dancing in truly authentic �Ghanaian� style. There is a surprise act from Nigeria whom organisers are keeping to the chest. The MOGO Concert will commence at exactly 7pm, at the National Theatre on Farmers Day. Tickets for the event would be available at the National Theatre, MTN office at Osu, Silverbird Cinema and the offices of Citi 97.3FM and goes for just fifty Ghana Cedis (GH�50). DAY 3: MOGO AWARDS & DINNER NIGHT As part of its efforts to celebrate and recognise efforts of musicians, especially those that have blazed the trail of highlife music in Ghana, organisers of the MOGO Festival have put together a special MOGO Awards and Dinner night to honour these giants in the Ghanaian music industry. The awards and dinner night would be the climax of the three-day festival which starts on Thursday, December 1with a forum would be followed by the concert on 2nd December at the National Theater and would climax with the awards night on Saturday December 3. The awardees for the maiden MOGO Dinner Dance/Awards Night include: Jerry Hansen, Faisal Helwani, Zapp Mallet, the legendary Ebo Taylor, and highlife icon, Nana Ampadu among others. The final leg of the MOGO Festival will come off at the Ridge Arena of the Alisa Hotel and is scheduled to start at 7pm. Musicians on the bill for MOGO 2011 have also lauded Citi FM for, among other things, exposing their works to the world through the MOGO Chronicles- a 30-minute expose on the life and works of each artiste which is currently being aired on Citi 97.3FM. The MOGO Chronicles has been running throughout the month of November.