Nakuru's nightlife: How Amapiano Sunday dethroned Friday as the ultimate party day

Nakuru's nightlife is dancing to a new beat as Sundays have become the ultimate party day. What was once reserved for Friday and Saturday as Sherehe days no longer appeals to revellers who now prefer to go out on Sunday.

Why? Well to understand this new dynamic, we headed to one of the clubs in Nakuru on a recent Sunday evening and by 6pm the place was packed, some would say hat it was thanks to an English Premier League match that was scheduled to kick off at 6.30pm. 

But as soon as the game finished, I expected to see people leave as Monday was just around the corner, but this was not the case. 

Instead, the DJ turned up the music and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. At around 2am on Monday morning there were still people in the club. 

Talking to Ian, the social media manager at Space Next Door, he agrees that more and more people are embracing Sunday nightlife. He says this is thanks to the new waves of amapiano, afrobeats and arbantone. 

"There are people who really enjoy listening to amapiano songs and on Fridays and Saturdays you can find such songs being played late at night, so we decided to create a day for this group and as it has a huge following it automatically became a hit," says Ian. 

Sunday parties, he says, are very different.

"On Sundays, especially when we play amapiano, we try to import the vibe from our brothers in South Africa and as a result you will find people with whistles and vuvuzelas on that day," he says. 

Samuel Otieno aka DJ Sirme agrees with Ian. The new trend is mainly due to clubs coming up with special theme nights. 

People who go to clubs on Sundays often associate it with a theme," he says. "Leo tunaenda amapiano chillis" changed the conversation from them just partying on Sunday to them going to listen to amapiano," he says. 

"This is usually a fan base that has come out to listen to a particular genre of music and they expect the best experience and so as a DJ you can't really afford to waste their time so you really have to step up to ensure that you give them the best musical experience." 

From his observation, he has noticed that there are more women coming out on Sundays compared to Fridays and Saturdays. 

Alice Gathoni, says she prefers to go out on Sundays because of the themed music that is played and also adds that Sunday sherehes are more chilled out and relaxed compared to those on Fridays and Saturdays. 

"Partying on a Sunday does not really affect my Monday, this is because while I party on Sunday, I do not go heavy on the drinks and also I do not really do a lot of dancing which will leave me exhausted. Also, I sleep during the day on Sunday and even if I leave the club and go home around 2am, I am never really that tired," she says.