Watch Rwanda's Mani Martin play at Iwacu Muzika fest

Due to COVID-19 restrictions on public performances, the organisers have partnered with the national broadcaster, Rwanda Television, to air the live performances of the 15 programmed musicians every Saturday from 9pm EAT. Martin's performance alongside his Kesho band, as well as the performances of support acts Patrick Nyamitari and Bill Ruzima, aired on 12 July. 

"I was thrilled to perform at this edition since I missed on last year's line-up, as I was touring in Japan," Martin told Music In Africa. "As much as the performance took a different format, which was understandable, I still had a great time with my band and the supporting artists."

Like most other African artists, a big portion of Martin's income comes from touring. He says although social media platforms have enabled Rwandan musicians to engage fans through virtual concerts amid the pandemic, artists are not making any money.

He believes it will take more creative solutions, partnerships and goodwill from corporates to support artists during the crisis.

"The situation is tough on everyone, especially on lesser-known artists who can't depend on making money from live streams," he said. "I did a 30-minute acoustic set on Instagram during the lockdown, and I had about 2 000 followers watching. Still, I don't think that frequent online performances are a strategy for a long-term solution as far as finances are concerned. Hopefully life is going to get back to normal soon. The show must go on."

In the meantime, Martin is using the current situation to write music and research the opportunities available for artists to make an income online.

"The upside of this pandemic is that I have a lot of time to get creative, so I'm composing and recording a lot. I'm pushing for online sales of my music internationally because local listeners are yet to embrace streaming on music platforms apart from YouTube," he said. 

Watch Mani Martin's Iwacu Muzika performance below: