Those with a healthy entertainment palate that made it down to the GET Arena on November 27th for the Hennessy Artistry Halo Concert 2010, were not disappointed. Excitement, elation, fun and pleasure are some modest words that describe the experience of the night.

From the red carpet where celebrities like Olu Maintain, Caroline Ekanem, Olisa Adibua and DJ Humility strutted, to the stellar performances by living legend, Sir Shina Peters, Nneka, MI, Ice Prince and Bez, the Hennessy Halo Concert stands out as an event with exceptionally well-thought planning.

To set the ball rolling, popular TV personality, Andre Blaze, came up stage to announce the reason for the gathering. He thereafter introduced DJ Tony Blaze and DJ Rexy, and the two DJs took to their turn tables, engaging in a mild competition much to the delight of guests. If the competition between the DJs was fun, then the next performance gave even more, with talk-of-the-moment producer, Kas, taking to the stage with his popular ‘Fi mi le’ track. That got the audience on their feet, and followed suit with ‘If you wind for me’.

Kas’ performance was followed by soulful guitarist Bez, who took to the stage with members of his band. Though not the regular dance hall musician, guests couldn’t help but ask for more during his engaging set. He performed songs off his new album and also did a remix of Fela Anikulapo’s ‘Water’. Bez wasn’t done yet, not until he gave guests a glint of his forthcoming album, performing his yet-to-be-released song, ‘Supersun’.

Andre Blaze, the MC of the night, came back on stage and asked guests what Nigerian song they would they like the DJs to play. Many answers came from different quarters but the shouts for ‘Oleku’ were the most dominant. To this end, Blaze told the DJs to thrill the fans for a while, and not long after, he called Ice Prince onto the stage. Wild applause greeted the Chocolate City artist who took the concert to another level with his tracks ‘Rewind’ and ‘Nobody test me’, which he performed with M.I and Jesse Jagz. He rounded off with the chart buster, ‘Oleku’, which he performed with Brymo.

Next, Nneka emerged on stage in simple jeans and a t-shirt, and showed guests why her unique talent has made her loved the world over. Performing songs like

‘Conversation’, amongst others, international act, Nneka was on point all through the night. The dexterity of her performance matched with the message of her songs was a plus for her that night.

Nneka soon made way for Mr Incredible who came in and did his thing. M.I, being the crowd-puller that he is, got a wild ovation that heralded his entrance on stage. The audience couldn’t have asked for more as the rapper turned the audience on to his tracks, performing hit songs like ‘Anoti’, ‘Superman’, ‘African rapper No.1’ and ‘Gold digger’. MI got proof that he was the crowd favourite when he asked the audience who the number 1 rapper was, to which the guests chorused “M.I”.

Not finished with the concert yet, all six artists that had featured on the ‘Like A Bottle’ track came upstage to perform the title song.

Like the proverbial big masquerade that caps every festival, Afro-Juju inventor, Sir Shina Peters re-emerged on stage with members of his band to wrap up the event. He performed songs that had made him the toast of the young, old and middle-aged in his heyday. He however proved that he still knew how to interact with the youth, sending the audience wild with his sensational drumbeats.

The Hennessy Artistry Halo Concert is surely one event that will remain in the memory of those who attended for a long time.