Allianz Awards fly on the wings of music
It was a sparkling night of good music in a cosy atmosphere at the National Theatre last Saturday as Allianz Ghana, in collaboration with O Africa, pulled off the maiden edition of the Allianz Awards.
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The event was to recognise and celebrate Ghanaians who through passion, determination and hard work, had attained success in a variety of fields despite the immense challenges that confronted them.
The Afro Harmony band was in the house to back the artistes for the programme which turned out to be a tight, well-produced affair with impressive music for all guests to enjoy.
The carpet band initially lounged into cover versions of some popular foreign pieces but rounded off with its own takes on some time-tested highlife tracks. Then the solo acts started to roll in with Anita Erskine and Kafui Dey as emcees.
Alexia did her own mid-tempo piece called Together Forever followed by another love-themed piece titled Distance and Time. With her cute, low haircut, she exuded a lot of confidence to suggest she was a star in the making.
Haywaya displayed versatility with his Afrobeat-tinged track about him coming from a ghetto and an Hausa rap song. Cina Soul sounded cool and jazzy and Lady Jay filled the hall with some salsa and reggae vibrations.
Efya thrilled all with three soulful tracks and M.anifest showed the kind of following he enjoyed among music fans as some young folks rapped along word for word with him on his tracks. The two stars, who were the event ambassadors, sealed off the evening with a collaboration that seemed to have gone down well with guests.
Those awarded for braving various odds to achieve remarkable feats were Black Stars Team Manager, Stephen Appiah; powerlifter, Charles Narh Teye and paracyclist, Emmanuel Ofosu Yeboah.
Others were disability-rights advocate, Farida Efua Bedwei; international human rights activist, Brigitte Sossou Perenyi and investigative journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas. Each of them received a plaque, an insurance package from Allianz Insurance Ghana and sponsors’ products.
The show’s producer, Panji Anoff, brought is wide experience in showbiz to bear on proceedings and he was able to deliver what can be described as one of the best-produced shows so far this year in the nation’s capital.