We Delivered, Sauti Sol

Top boy band Sauti Sol have spoken out against accusations leveled against them by their US-based fans following their recently concluded tour.

A section of the fans who attended their Atlanta, Minnesota and Seattle shows accused the ‘Sura Yako’ singers of staging ‘half-baked’ performances.

Fans complained that the four-member-band kept them waiting for hours, and then proceeded to give sketchy performances.

When Citizen Digital reached out to band manager Marek Fuchs with these allegations, he dismissed them saying that the complaints were only one percent of the feedback. When asked why only one member of the band made it to their Seattle show, he said that three of the band members missed connecting flights due to heightened security at the Atlanta airport.

“The reason behind the Seattle show being half band is because of an extra security check at the airport in Atlanta, which meant that some of the guys didn’t make it on the flight. It happens,” he said.

The band backed this stance by a post on the news section of their website where they lauded lead singer Bien-Aime Baraza for delivering an excellent performance on behalf of the group.

“The highlight of the USA tour was when 3 members of the band couldn’t make it to the final show in Seattle dubbed “Madaraka Festival 2015″ as a result of missing their connecting flights. Bien-Aime Baraza took to the stage, picked up his guitar and started the show. He did not take a bullet for the team; instead he picked his gun and killed it. The enthusiastic crowd was left in awe, you couldn’t tell that it was a one man show” the site read.

Some blogs have attributed the heightened security to bomb threats at the Atlanta’s Hartsfield International Airport. These claims have, however, not been confirmed.

Marek, who accompanied the band on the five-city tour, denied accusations that the band arrived late for the performances. He shifted the blame to the concert promoters.

“The shows didn’t start late; the promoters gave a range for the event of several hours to accommodate DJs and people coming in late. The show was great otherwise,” he stated.

Despite the negative feedback from some quarters, a section of fans congratulated the band for making the best of a difficult situation.. “A little disappointed, but Bien you seriously represented!” Mercy Njuguna said.

Sauti Sol has been nominated for the 2015 BET Awards which are slated for Sunday, June 28 2015. They are the only East African act and they will be competing alongside seven others.