By the time Lydia Jazmine stepped onto the stage at Lugogo Cricket Oval on Friday night, the audience had already waited long enough. But when she finally appeared, there was little need for an introduction.
Thousands of voices rose almost immediately, singing back the songs of an artist whose career has been built on melodies that have travelled through relationships, heartbreaks, late-night drives and different chapters of her listeners’ lives.
It was Lydia Jazmine’s night, but the crowd had clearly decided that they were going to be part of the show too.
Her long-awaited ‘The One and Only’ concert, held on September 4, brought together fans, friends and some of Uganda’s biggest names in music for an evening that moved between polished performances, nostalgia, celebration and a few unexpected moments that made the night even more memorable.
By about 3pm, Lugogo Cricket Oval was already beginning to fill.
Fans arrived dressed for the occasion, stopping at the V&A backdrop for photographs and 360-degree videos before making their way into the venue. Groups of friends settled into their spaces, conversations grew louder and anticipation gradually replaced the relative calm of the afternoon.
As the numbers increased, so did the atmosphere.
The concert featured performances from artists including Sheebah Karungi, Lillian Mbabazi, Fefe Bussi, Ray G and Anknown, among others. DJs kept the crowd entertained between performances, ensuring that the energy did not disappear whenever one act left the stage.
But everyone knew there was one person they had come to see.
When Lydia eventually appeared, the response made it clear that the wait had been worth it.
Songs such as ‘Cherie’, ‘Same Way’, ‘Masuuka’ and ‘You and Me’ turned the oval into a giant sing-along, with fans often taking over the lyrics and leaving Lydia to listen to her own music being returned to her by thousands of people.
There was something deeply personal about those moments.
An artist spends years recording songs in studios, releasing them into the world and hoping that people will connect with them. On this night, Lydia got to see that connection in its fullest form.
Her fans did not simply know the songs. They remembered them.
They sang them word for word.
And for an artist marking another significant milestone in her career, that may have been one of the most meaningful rewards of the evening.
When the music stopped
Not everything went according to plan.
While performing one of her songs with Geosteady, the music suddenly cut out.
For a few seconds, the interruption threatened to create one of those awkward silences every performer dreads. But Kampala audiences are rarely short of a way to fill silence.
From somewhere in the crowd came a chant:
“Lydia… we wanna partee!”
The moment quickly changed the mood.
Instead of allowing the technical glitch to derail the performance, the audience turned it into another piece of entertainment. The oval erupted, and what could have been an uncomfortable pause became one of the night’s most memorable unscripted moments.
It was also a reminder of what makes live concerts different from simply listening to music at home.
Things can go wrong.
The sound can disappear. Performances can run late. Artists can forget lyrics. But sometimes those imperfections become the moments people remember most.
And on this particular night, the crowd was willing to carry the show until the music returned.
More than a performance
Away from the stage, the concert also became a meeting point for people who had come for different reasons but found themselves sharing the same experience.
Friends caught up. Fans took photographs. Some sang along to nearly every song, while others simply watched and soaked in the atmosphere.
V&A Sherry was part of that social experience, with the brand serving its product neat and as Vangria as guests interacted around the venue.
For Roy Ronald Tumwizere, the brand manager, Lydia’s relationship with her audience made the concert a natural environment for the brand.
“Lydia Jazmine has built a strong connection with her audience, and that was evident tonight. That made ‘The One and Only’ concert a natural space for V&A to be,” he said.
Tumwizere said the brand’s involvement was also rooted in the idea of people sharing memorable experiences.
“V&A is about those moments you want to enjoy and share with other people. Whether it is a big career milestone like Lydia’s second concert or simply a night out with friends, there is something special about having the people you care about there with you. That is what ‘Yours to Share’ means to us, and tonight we got to see that play out in a very real way,” he added.
A night that belonged to Lydia—and her audience
The significance of the concert, however, was ultimately found on the stage.
Lydia had spent years building a catalogue, and on Friday she had the rare opportunity to stand before thousands of people and hear that catalogue come alive again.
The songs were no longer just recordings.
They were memories.
For some fans, they were reminders of relationships. For others, particular periods of their lives. For many, they were simply songs that had remained part of their playlists long after their release.
That is perhaps the clearest measure of an artist’s staying power.
Trends change. New songs arrive every week. Social media moves at a relentless pace. But when an artist can perform an older song and thousands of people still know every word, the music has already achieved something beyond a trending moment.
Lydia’s concert demonstrated that connection.
By the time the final performances ended and the lights began to come up, the audience had given her what every performer ultimately seeks: their attention, their voices, their energy and several hours of their lives.
For one night at Lugogo Cricket Oval, ‘The One and Only’ was not simply the name of a concert.
It was a statement the crowd seemed happy to endorse.
Lydia was the star of the night, but her fans made sure she never had to sing alone.
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