By Victoria Ige
Ayo Makun is not your favourite comedian. We know this. He’s not the most dashing or the most fabulous – even he knows this. But the showbiz star, who’s risen through the years – from being a campus entrepreneur to becoming Ali Baba’s personal assistant and later standup wannabe – has become such a formiddable figure in the comedy sub-industry that it’ll be hard to make a top 10 list and not have him sitting comfortably there.
It’s not because of his TV shows; not because he’s on promoters’ ‘most wanted’ list (actually, he’s not). Mr Makun has become a force to reckon with, because of his annual all star comedy concert AY Live. Not entirely unique in concept – AY Live follows the same ol’ stand-up comedy concert pattern. Pioneered by Tee A in the late 90s, the usual Nigerian stand-up comedy concert advertises itself as a themed show, headlined by the comedian in question; but ends up being a concert of many artists, especially hit musicians whose names draw the crowds, and whose hits keep them there – AY‘s event however brings more to the table. The gentleman employs out-of-the-box methods to promote his events; a skit with Genevieve today, a fun video with Nadia Buhari tomorrow. He’s recruited Stella Damasus and Kate Henshaw and Funke Akindele to create pre-event publicity. And it’s always worked – especially because when the fans get there, they’re rarely disappointed.
The result is that he’s been able to, over the years, create a brand people associate with bestsellers, hitmakers and superstar actresses. A brand people associate with success. There’s almost no artiste worth his or her onions that has not been on AY’s stage. And there are few ardent entertainment fans who will say they’ve never heard of, or been to his event. They may complain about protocol issues; complain about not getting a place to sit, after buying VIP tickets; or even about the crowds and potential issues with mammoth gatherings. But they keep going year after year.
And as this year’s edition, held just weeks back, shows the crowd just keeps growing. Apart from Flytime’s Rhythm Unplugged, AY Live is the only other hugely successful and consistent annual low-budget concert. And within its industry where comedy shows are a dozen for a dime, AY Live has become the king of them all…
Missed this year’s edition? here – we take you through some of our favourite pics from the star-studded event
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2 comments
NA WA FOR THIS I GO DIE DRESSING OOO, BOTH THE STAGE DRESSING AND D ORIGINAL DRESSING, LMAOOOOOOOOOOOO
Denrele looks awesome! for the very first time, i’m loving the jacket and the pose…..very unusual as compared to the second pic wit his tongue sticking out! Ruki Sana looks bored sef