11th Tidal Rave Festival demonstrates growth of youth-led festival

Tidal Rave Festival, an annual beach festival organized by EchoHouse Africa, has now entrenched its position as a strong youth platform that brings together various young people from different backgrounds.

The recently held 11th edition of the festival in Ghana on Saturday, 12th October, under the theme “Catch The Sun,” gave the strongest indication yet of how the now expanded Tidal Rave Festival platform resonates with various young people.

Last Saturday, the Ravers were a healthy mix of tertiary students and out-of-school young Africans who are constantly influencing conversations on youth culture.

What was evident was the celebration of youth cultural touchpoints of music, fashion, content, and photography.

A key feature of the festival, which has, however, also grown over the years, is the support for young entrepreneurs, content creators, and other young people with creative careers.

It’s inherent to what the festival represents and the community of young people it continues to build. Young entrepreneurs, who are Ravers themselves, enjoy cost-free access to the festival to build on the growing consumer base by engaging other Ravers.

There is also a strong push for collaborative work among young creatives that creates a support network among young creators who collaborate on content creation, music, and others.

Music, which defines the soul of the festival, was a mix of various sounds and genres: Afrobeat, Amapiano, hiplife, hip hop, and a strong representation of Alté sounds.

Staying true to its relevance, the festival featured a plethora of games and activities, including two music stages. The first stage, dubbed the Sunny Side Stage, featured various talented DJs and MCs who played back-to-back music throughout the day. This kept the Ravers engaged right from the start of the festival to its very end.

The second stage, which took on two personalities named the Solar Stage and Sunset Stage, became active in the late afternoon, hosting even more talented DJs, MCs, artists, and dancers.

The same stage had leading talents such as Kwesi Arthur, Stonebwoy, Sarkodie, KiDi, EL, Joey B, Edem, DJ Vyrusky, Kojo Manuel, and others delivering captivating back-to-back performances, thrilling all Ravers. Other acts, like the Samba Ladies, also gave Ravers a thrilling performance.

Despite the intermittent drizzling, determined Ravers remained undeterred in their quest to experience the festival in its entirety. On several occasions, this led to Ravers encouraging various artistes to perform beyond their stipulated set times.

Building on last year's success and its smooth experience, this year's edition not only improved upon the previous festival but also exceeded the expectations of the Ravers.

This undoubtedly puts pressure on the organizer to continuously identify innovative ways to thrill Ravers each year.

In a statement, the CEO of EchoHouse Africa, Beryl Agyekum Ayaaba, noted the need to continuously relook at the various elements of the festival in order to make the festival relevant to the period, despite its growth.

“We had to relook and modify a lot of the components of the festival to ensure it is still appealing to Ravers, who for once in a year, just want to let go and create memories that they will cherish forever,” she said.

“For us, that is the constant challenge we throw ourselves; as the festival grows, it is always essential to ensure that the festival is still relevant to the Raver today, just as it was for the Raver some 11 years ago when we first held it,” Awo Somuah, the Event Director of Tidal Rave Festival, also added.

Over the past couple of years, Tidal Rave Festival has become a key feature of the youth culture calendar in Ghana, Liberia, and soon, in Nigeria too.