By Olu James
Dateline: Friday, December 1, 2006.
It was a night like no other in the history of gospel music concerts in Nigeria. One venue, 40,000 attendees, over a dozen gospel acts, and a series of ministers delivering sermons that served as interlude throughout the night. The Experience Lagos was born!
The brainchild of Pastor Paul Adefarasin, head pastor of The House on the Rock Church, Lagos, the gospel music concert was positioned to be a platform for all Christians, irrespective of denomination, race, creed, and ethnicity, to worship and praise God.
Arguably, The Experience became the first concert to assemble an army of international gospel singers to perform in Nigeria at a go. The first edition had international ministers like American gospel singer, Kirk Franklin, Israel Houghton, Donnie McClurkin to mention a few. Indeed, it set a precedent for future editions by merging international and local acts to perform on the same stage, on the same day.
Collaborations
With the success of the first show, the subsequent editions witnessed more achievements. International gospel artistes were drawn to the yearly movement to leave an impact. From the second edition, it accommodated successful gospel acts like Cece Winans, Don Moen – who has so far remained a staple. Indeed, for the artistes, the programme became a good excuse to visit the most populous black nation each year. Similarly, the 16th edition invited Ana Paula Valadao (Brazil), Sheldon Banagera (India), Sydney Mohede (Indonesia), and Planetshakers (Australia).
Aside galvanizing foreign and Nigerian acts to work side by side on stage, its impact transcends mere sharing of the space. Relationships were further strengthened in the recording studio. So far, the platform has facilitated several collaborations between Nigerian and foreign acts, with the most notable examples being Don Moen and Frank Edwards’ Eze Ndi Eze, Dunsin Oyekan and Kim Burell’s Na You, Nathaniel Bassey and Chandler Moore’s Olorun Agbaye, Tim Godfrey and Travis Greene’s Nara, and a remix of Mercy Chinwo’s Excess Love featuring J.J Hairston.
Although, recruiting international artiste does come with a certain level of appeal and fanfare, the organisers chose not to monetise the process, instead, it billed attendees at no cost – a culture it has maintained throughout all 14 editions of the show at the Tafawa Balewa Square; 2011’s edition at Eko Hotel and Suites, and the recent choice of The Rock Cathedra, all in Lagos.
Exponential growth
Over a decade and a half, The Experience went from receiving over 40,000 in 2006 to 700,000 visitors according to its 2017 estimates. The 2013 edition recorded 600,000 visitors, revealing exponential growth. In different editions, the show has also attracted prominent figures like the then president of Nigeria, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, who attended the 2010 edition alongside the former Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola. Other notable figures that had attended the show included Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo (2016), Jimi Agbaje (2014), and Femi Fani Kayode (2014).
The pandemic
Sadly, in 2020, the world witnessed the ravaging strain of the coronavirus first isolated in Wuhan, China – COVID-19. Its emergence would culminate in a pandemic that saw economies of the world shut down. To curb its spread, strict healthcare guidelines that translated to social distancing, the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and observing proper hand hygiene became a norm, briefly shutting the physical door of The Experience to its hundred of thousands guests. But thanks to modern technology, the 2020 edition was held and was tagged: ‘The Experience 15 – Global Edition’. Here, the performances were live-streamed on satellite television and social media solely.
Slowly recovering from the pandemic, the organizers adopted a hybrid event, partly as a way of crowd control and adherence to the COVID-19 healthcare guidelines amid the emergence of the OMICRON variant. Yet, the show recorded another successful year with an impressive turnout at the physical venue, while millions of viewers streamed the event. Aside streaming content from Nigeria, however, the event also streamed from South America, the United Kingdom, Asia and Australia, affirming its global status.
This year, the concert opener, Don Moen gave a virtual performance, with other ministers live-streaming their sermons and goodwill messages. The 16th edition used the proverbial stone to kill two birds by harnessing the power of the Internet while maintaining the status quo.
Socio-economic impact
But Beyond the innovative ways of the unusual concert, its socio-economic impact cannot be overlooked as it has continually, for the past 15 editions, contributed to the local economy by facilitating the emergence and sustainability of small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs).
At the press conference heralding The Experience 16 – Global Edition, Adefarasin noted the many diverse ways the concert has spurred many sectors into profitability, while at the same time giving a platform for young talents to shine. He said: “The Experience continues to be a huge driver of diverse Kingdom culture and the creative industry, influencing positive ideological shifts, shaping identities, stimulating innovation, forging meaningful relationships and collaborative endeavours, and fostering economic liberation. Some of the notable positive outcomes of The Experience are the entrepreneurial opportunities it creates for many young persons”.
Global phenomenon
Conceived as a platform to bring Nigerians together through worship and praise, The Experience Lagos slowly but surely metamorphosed into a platform where nations assemble, either physically or virtually to pray for not just individuals, but also nations. With an ambitious move to parade international gospel acts, and welcome thousands to worship, the show has bridged the gap between nations thus becoming an annual event the entire world looks forward to – a global phenomenon!