Several blankets and wines later, the million shilling question for me is: what exactly is it that brings Kenyans together?

With much effort from organisers, the artists come rolling in and out of Mamba Village in a unique cocktail of talent. The crowds also pay their way in, but what is it that drives them there exactly? The music is only part of it.

Blankets and Wine starts at 1pm and often has space enough for milling about at 2.30pm, but when it’s just an hour left before the end of the show at 4pm, the crowds start pouring in like they would in a channel O video.

As the stellar entertainment is being dished out to universal fans of music, most of those who show up are busy laughing and socialising and paying little heed to what is unfolding on the stage before them.

Good music, a good looking crowd, poison of their choice and a knowledge that a multitude of other Kenyans just like you will be at the event – I think – is what drives Blankets and Wine. The combined atmosphere of that and meeting new people!

What Liquideep, Eric Wainaina, Neema and Sage did this past Sunday is simply entice the crowd to gather at one place. And a large crowd it was.

Thousands turned up at the Mamba Village under clear blue skies, laying down their blankets, stuffing their drinks in kikapus, and smoking shisha furtively. Those who arrived at the venue early got good parking spots, while the rest trekked between cars for at least a couple of kilometres before getting into the venue.

The crowd was generally disinterested in going to the front until the South African two-man show Liquideep got up on stage… They entertained the crowd for just under two hours, and as the darkness fell solidly on the Mamba Village grounds, the after party moved to Club Volar.

Check out some more scenes from the festivities here. (Courtesy of Quaint Photography)