Girlfriends actress for Sawa Sawa Festival

Renee Wilson

The original cast of Girlfriends

The annual Sawa Sawa Festival is back this time from May 29 to 31. On Friday 29, at the VIP grand opening night, American Renee Wilson who has captured the attention of audience members from the runway, stage to film, will perform at the Sarakasi Dome alongside little known foreign acts. They are Omar Arreola, a Mexican musician based in California, Damien Horne who to his credit has opened for and performed with artists from every genre including Kid Rock, the Neville Brothers, Bon Jovi, Keith Urban and more.
Renee is a formally trained musician turned actress. Audiences will recognize her as the singer in Tim Bakers stage musical of Dreamgirls. She then made her television debut in the season finale episode on the TV sitcom Girlfriends. Her most visible role is that of Raylette Pat Lyle in the Academy Award winning film Ray, starring Regina King and Jamie Foxx.
During this red carpet event, Nina Ogot, Iddi Achieng and the Sarakasi Allstars will join them. The ticket charge for the Friday show will be Sh1, 000.
Unlike other years where the festival was held at Arboretum, this year, the three-day event will be based in and around The Sarakasi Dome, which is the recently renovated Shan Cinema in Ngara. On Saturday, a free outdoor urban multi-stage affair with hip hop performances at the WAPI British Council stage outside the Dome from 11am till 5pm; running concurrently will be the Dance Marathon, showcasing the best of Kenyan dance groups.