Tidal Rave 2023: New tricks, same old dog

December in Ghana is characterized by lots and lots of events. And the major starter is the annual Tidal Rave festival. This year's was held on October 5 at the La Palm Royal Beach.

10 years running, the annual beach music festival has been known for its colour and a rich lineup of some of the biggest acts in the country as they assemble at a major beach to provide the best experience for revellers, or in this sense, “Ravers”.

However, Tidal Rave has been plagued with some major problems. Mainly, location, timing, and security. The 2022 edition was the climax of it all.

Usually held at the Kokrobite beachside, many revellers had to deal with maneuvering the bad roads and twisting streets in an unfamiliar neighborhood to locate the event grounds. Not to talk of problems with parking and ticketing.

Like most other major events, timing is a whole different situation, especially for the line-up. Many artistes come later than the times stated with major artistes preferring to go on stage after midnight. This becomes a problem as the events carry on into the wee hours of the morning. This leaves the worn-out revelers to attempt to find their way back home at 2 to 3 a.m., in an unfamiliar neighbourhood.

Security is what tops everything. Past Tidal Rave events were plagued with reports of robberies, mugging, and even unconfirmed reports of a shooting.

But 2023 attempted to fix all that.

From the promos, the first thing one noticed was the venue change. From the secluded Kokrobite beach sites to the easily accessible La Palm Royal Beach resort, many revelers could breathe a sigh of relief.

Another noteworthy change was the parking and ticketing requirements. Revellers were made to park their cars at the Tradefair complex, get their tickets scanned, and then take a shuttle to the resort itself.

Another thing to note was the security; everywhere you looked, there were security personnel. From police officers to private security personnel, one could count about 200 security officers ready to prevent any situation.

Getting onto the grounds, one would be greeted with all the sights and sounds of a well-organized event. Stands were located at vantage points and the stage, lights, and setup were magnificent.

.@tidalravefest 2023 ! ????️

Shot & Edited on iPhone ???? #TidalRave23 #TheNewRave pic.twitter.com/S3ZjVCH8EY

— REELS GUY (@reelsguygh) November 5, 2023

Mainly, timing. For an event scheduled to take place from 12 p.m. to 12 a.m., it was shocking that the first major act, Samini, came on stage at around 10 p.m. His performance lightened the mood and gave the crowd what they paid for. He did his set for about 40 minutes before leaving to much applause.

But while the audience thought Samini’s performance would open the floodgates for performances to continue without any major setback, they waited for another hour before Efya came on stage at 12 a.m. This was followed by a dance ensemble from D.W.P and then sets from Joey B, Plasmid, La Meme Gang, and Kofi Mole.

Later, there were cracks. It could be because of the timing as it seemed like the sets were being rushed. Kofi Mole, during his set even mentioned that he wasn’t allowed to perform his last song before walking away abruptly.

Joey B and La Meme did their best, bringing up the energy of the crowd with their hit songs and shutting up the Twitter debaters.

Stonebwoy finally came on next delivering an electrifying performance for the next 40 minutes until chaos ensued.

On stage, scuffles happened when some individuals tried storming the DJ’s booth. This led to shoving, causing the lights to go off. Stonebwoy tried keeping the show going until he got fed up.

He addressed the crowd, claiming that nobody could force him off stage.

Sarkodie came next. Doing his set smoothly, without any hiccups. His performance was beautiful. This was followed by R2Bees and that was when the issues came back. More shoving and pushing while the artistes tried going on with their set!

Eventually, Mugeez, fed up with what was going on, condemned the disruption. He warned his colleagues to observe their time and to avoid breaking the unity apart.

The surprise act showing up around 3 a.m. was King Promise, who sent the already worn-out audience home with his best hits.

In all, Tidal Rave 2023 managed to fix all that was wrong with the previous events. The security was fixed, and the ticketing and parking situation was fixed, but as usual, the human factor was the problem.

check out more sights and sounds from the event

Africa’s biggest beach event!!

Kojo Manuel X DJ Vyrusky ????#TidalRave #TidalRave23 pic.twitter.com/6WvT9m9znc

— Kojo Manuel (@KojoManuel) November 5, 2023

When the landlord @sarkodie jumps on stage, the crowd goes wild. ???? ????????This is the New Rave #TidalRave23 #TheNewRave pic.twitter.com/UXG78Jdwmc

— Tidal Rave Festival (@tidalravefest) November 6, 2023

Back in the capital and straight to the Rave Last night ???????????????? #TidalRave23 pic.twitter.com/WI84H9Sm1F

— Lord KiDi (@KiDiMusic) November 5, 2023