Some of the best musicians of Samoan heritage – from across the Pacific, Australia, New Zealand and the US – came 'home' to celebrate Samoa's cultural past, and their contributions to an international musical future.
On 3 June, two days after Samoa's 61st Independence Day, close to 10,000 people braved the rain to party at the very first Motherland Samoa festival, the highlight of Samoa's 2023 music and social calendar.In Samoa, a Pacific Island country of just over 200,000 people, 10,000 people is an absolute, record breaking, sell out. There were no tickets left by concert day.
The first music festival to hit Samoa's shores was clearly exciting for local people, but it was just as exciting for the musicians themselves.
"For us, it's pretty important to be able to be here, because a lot of us travel around the world, we do a lot of shows in other countries, but to be able to come back to Samoa, where we come from and where our parents come from, and be able to perform for everyone, it's a very special honour," stated Australia-based Kennyon Brown.
American reggae singer J Boog added to this sentiment. "For all the experiences we've been through travelling the world, there's nothing like coming back home and actually sing for your own people."
The line-up was a who's who of contemporary Pasifika heritage artists. Many, like Kennyon Brown, are based in Australia, including the HP Boyz, Lisi, and Bina Butta. Other musicians taking the stage were Tomorrow People, J Boog, Savage, Wayno and the godfather of international Pasifika music, Fiji.
Bina Butta - image © Pacificast
Commenting on the line-up at the Motherland press conference, Bina Butta said: "To be able to sit among these legends, I grew up listening to a lot of the artists at this table and I hope that one day future generations can say the same about everyone else here, whether our music is in Samoan, or Fijian or Tongan or English, it's just a great way for everyone to feel united."
Entering Apia Park – an athletics stadium – you could feel the buzz, the excitement in the air. Samoa gets very few big names gracing its shores, and to see so many favourite artists onstage, at the same time, in Samoa, was a major cultural event.
Alongside the food stalls selling deep fried stuff, shaved ice and homemade lemonade, were the VIP sections and the VVIP tents. The VVIP tents had their own plush lounges, with free drinks and food. Crucially for later, the tents obviously had a roof, so the Very, Very Important people didn't get soaked when the tropical skies opened.
The concert began at 1pm, but really got moving when the HP Boyz, from Hampton Park in in Melbourne, took the stage. Man, did these boyz have energy.
Clad all in black, with identical long-hair-tied-back-with-shaved-sides hairdos and dark sunnies, they dominated the stage. The whole crowd knew the lyrics to every song, and delighted in their on stage antics, including shaking and spraying prosecco over the audience.
The HP Boyz’ Auzzie side showed up when one of them did a shoey on stage, much to the delight of the young in the audience, and the disgust of the old. Harry Styles, eat your heart out.
HP Boyz - image © Pacificast
At 5pm, the crowd was dripping with sweat. The storm clouds rolled in, and the air was filled with the scent of ozone and vapes. Girls had traditional flowers behind their ears – left for single, right for taken – and everyone was using traditional woven fans to cool down.
Motherland t-shirts were everywhere, with some wrapping the Samoan flag 'round their waist as traditional lava-lava skirts. As the HP Boyz set came to a close, the Motherland hype man, Dr Tua, took the stage.
Dr Tua's approach to MCing really epitomised the Motherland festival vibe. He was happy, engaging, family-friendly yet still focussed on the adults having a good time. While there were kids everywhere as per Samoa's family-orientated culture, there was no way Motherland could be mistaken for a Wiggles concert.
The hype songs between sets were an eclectic mix. Peter Andre's 'Mysterious Girl' was one that kept the crowd in the mood, as was 'Oh Happy Day' from Whoopi Goldberg's 'Sister Act'. Everyone knew all the words, and it was great to see all these tough HP Boyz fans cheerfully singing along to the gospel favourite.
When technical issues cut out the music and Dr Tua's microphone, he wasn't phased. He just kept on dancing, encouraging the audience to keep singing, and mimed drinking the HP Boyz prosecco. The crowd loved it.
Next up was Brisbane-based Lisi. The crowd went absolutely insane. Dressed in a hot pink Pasifika print shirt and bright orange sneakers, Lisi shouted to the crowd: "Let me show you how we party on the west side of Brisbane!" Queue ear-shattering screaming from the audience.
Lisi bounced all over the stage for his 45-minute set. At one point, he came out draped in the blue and red Samoan flag, matching many people in the crowd. Samoans have so much pride in their country, and to see it reflected back to them by an international artist brought them to frenzy.
Happy revellers at Motherland Samoa - image © Pacificast
With the rain bucketing down now, Dr Tua again took the stage. This time revving up the crowd with the call-response shouts of "Hey hey?", "HO!" and the traditional Samoan Cheee-hooooo. It's a high-pitched cry, and when a thousand people all scream it at the same time, it really splits the ears.
Sunshine-reggae group Tomorrow People from New Zealand were up next, a change in vibe from the previous two rap performances. Motherland was very well paced in this regard, mixing up the types of artists to keep the music varied, and the audience on its toes, providing different types of entertainment for everyone.
Five of the seven members of Tomorrow People have Samoan heritage, but it was the first time the band had performed in the country. Again, the crowd were super supportive, they were very happy and welcoming to all those who took the stage.
Next up were two short sets from DJ Noiz (15 minutes) and Donnell Lewis (10 minutes) before it was Kennyon Brown's turn to perform. This is when people who had been sheltering from the rain in the stands surrounding the athletics field began to move back down to the front of the stage.
While everyone performing was a draw, Bina Butta was about to take the stage, and this is who many – and women especially – were there to see. Performing a duet with her brother Kennyon (their other brother, Rellek, had taken the stage earlier in the day), Butta sang her hit and TikTok sensation, 'Lady Love'. She also performed 'One Call Away', a massive crowd pleaser.
After Bina Butta, and the sun had set, the stage lit up with a traditional cultural performance, modernised to fit in with the festival vibe.
Scores of dancers filed on, taking a seat and moving as one as they slapped their crossed legs and moved their arms together to the sound of the music. It was a real highlight of the night, and underscored that the purpose of the festival was to highlight Samoan heritage, and reconnect these international artists with the country.
Bringing the show home were the final four acts and headliners: Savage, J Boog, Wayno, and the musical legend (and Samoan influenced) Fiji. Or, as described by host Dr Tua: "The legend and the king of reggae music in the South Pacific, the one and only, the one who paved the way for all of our young artists of the South Pacific, Fiji!"
Fiji - image © Pacificast
The concert finished to applause, cries and screams for more. The inaugural Motherland Samoa had been a hit. The idea for the Motherland festival came about after Samoa's successful rugby league World Cup campaign last year.
"Pacificast was really moved by being able to bring some of the sons of Samoa home, and watching them reconnect to their roots and their culture and understand where their families come from," said Pacificast founder Julius Tuigamala.
"We thought it was a very powerful thing, but we also understood that in our music industry we had musical legends like Fiji and J Boog, and we have such a talented diaspora of musicians across Australia, New Zealand, America, and it was important to bring our communities back home. We've received so much mail from people who are travelling back to Samoa for the first time and it's such an honour to be able to set up a platform like that for our community."
As a community event, it was important for the Pacificast team to make entry to the festival free for the local people. The majority of Samoans would be unlikely to be able to afford tickets at regular market process. Instead, Pacificast set up a system of VIP and VVIP ticketing, which helped to fund the concert, especially through returning diaspora.
Motherland Samoa might have been the first such festival, but it won't be the last. In Apia, when the crowd was asked if there were any Tongans in the house, the stadium went nuts. The concert truly was a Pacific event, and Motherland Tonga is next.
