Africa Night Nijmegen. Some things change, some remain the same. Some things remain the same because they change, some change because they remain the same. Can you still follow us? (btw, follow us on twitter @ http://twitter.com/africanight).
Africa Night Nijmegen celebrated its first anniversary last Saturday November 3rd 2012. This party was a nice way to round up the 1st and start ANN’s 2nd year in Nijmegen. Funny thing was that we kind of continued a discussion we started with 2 of our guests a year ago. These two ladies know their African music very well. They’ve been going out to Africa themed events for ages. A year ago they were of the opinion that we should stick to the music of yesteryears. They are not fans at all of this new stuff coming out of Africa. Of course we tried to explain why we play what we play. Tried as much as we did in November last year, the ladies stuck to their guns. It was the first and the last we saw of them.
That was until last Saturday when they showed up again and we just continued where we left off. The crux of their argument is that if something is good, there is no need to change it. African music was great until about several years ago. The new stuff is too commercial and will not stand the test of time. In other words, we need to go back to the roots. Some things never change. Before anyone starts to think these ladies are just bitching or something like that, we have to point out that our discussions were held in a very friendly and mutually respectful atmosphere. For us the question is always how to strike a balance between the past, the present and the future. Over the years, the make-up of our guests has changed rapidly. When we started out more than 14 years ago, the youngest people at our show had an average age of 35. Fast forward 14 years later and the average age of the youngest segment of our visitors is less than 25!
We are constantly trying to find a balance between old school and new school. Every time we have a show, some people are going to miss some of their favourite songs. But people who come consistently know this always evens itself out during the course of the year. It is difficult for us to always satisfy everyone, every time. We really do our best to satisfy our customers. In that respect, things never change. You, our guests, are the reasons we do what we do. The way ANN has developed in the last months did not make any financial sense for us. But because of the love of our loyal customers, we have decided to stay on. That is one of the things that remain the same while the world around us is changing. We remain loyal to you because you never change too. You are loyal to the show too.
We made a promise to our discussion partners to play some old classic. And we did. What do you think happened while the good old African music was being played? There was no man left seating. Everybody from the 16 year old (yes, comes now regularly with mum) to the 70 year old just invaded the dance floor. You almost could not find a dancing space any more. So you see, we were right after all, one of our discussion partners remarked triumphantly. Of course they were right. But after the 5th number a couple of the younger customers were already queuing by the DJ corner to complain about not hearing their own favourite (new) songs any more!
Sometimes we feel like we are also the umpires in the battle of the age group. Our sometimes impossible position was further highlighted when a lady who (in terms of age segmentation) was a cross between the old and the new between the 2, furiously came to us to complain that she was hearing P-Square for the 2nd time that evening. She demanded (rightly) we played some of her favourite music too!
That is the spirit of Africa Night. When people feel safe and trusting enough to show their true emotions, you just have to be grateful, listen and cherish. If they are afraid to tell it to your face, they will say it behind your back and you will lose them forever. We love our guests and we are grateful for their trust. Happy anniversary to you all. We are looking forward to continuing our discussions either monthly or annually. Whichever way you choose, we are there with both ears. See you again next month in Nijmegen for the December edition of our love affair.
Discover the joy of African music & dance!
