Anthony Dagbey (middle) in a pose with some of the paricipants
Hundreds of upcoming artistes and a number of music lovers last Saturday, August 27 trooped to the auditorium of the Saint Francis College of Education in Hohoe to witness the first phase of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA) talent hunt auditions which lasted for over four hours.
Though 50 young and talented upcoming artistes registered for the first phase of the audition, only 11 participated.
Geoffrey Kobla Adogo, a.k.a. Dziwae, 38, a native of Atiavi in the Keta District, Richard Kwami Dorgbedo, 22, a hiplife artiste from Logba in the Afadzato South District, and Daniel Idoko Chibuzor, 25, a Nigerian national based in Hohoe, were the three discovered artistes.
The Volta region music talent hunt was organised by the Volta Regional Chapter of the Musicians Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), in collaboration with MG-TV and Slim Entertainment.
The talent hunt train, according to the organisers, will make a stopover at three locations – Sogakope, Aflao and Ho – in the coming weeks before the final showdown later in the year.
The first phase of the talent hunt auditions held last Saturday saw young talents going through a series of acapella freestyle in English and their preferred local languages.
Some of the participants were exceptionally great, dazzling the judges with their amazing talents and singing and rapping skills. Others proved to be very elementary, falling short of the standards set, however, they brought humour and excitement to the process.
After the audition, the Volta Regional Chairman of the Musician Union of Ghana (MUSIGA), Anthony Komla Dargbey, also known as Tony D, expressed his satisfaction, saying, “There are a lot of talents around the region, so we are targeting those talented youngsters who have never had the opportunity to showcase their hidden talents. We believe these free auditions will help many young people in Ghana to realise their full potential.”
Mr Dagbey reiterated the need for all musicians in the region to register with the union in order to help them tap into the wonderful opportunities being created by the union.
The over-all winner among the 12 finalists will be rewarded with a recording contract, souvenirs from sponsors and organisers, among others.
He, however, appealed to companies and organisations to sponsor the subsequent shows.
By George Clifford Owusu