“Listen to Music in Times of Trouble”
Awillo Mike, Kenyan Live Band Music, and Surviving the Covid-19 Pandemic
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 23308477 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Tom Mboya (0000-0003-2234-9716, Moi University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Pages | 1-17 |
| Publication date | 2026-07-31 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | African Studies Review (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0002-0206 • E-ISSN: 1555-2462 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/asr.2026.10293 |
| OpenAlex | W7172030657 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 12 |
This narrative account of the working career of Kenyan popular “live band” musician Awillo Mike in 2020 explores the contribution that musicking makes to social resilience. Ethnographic and literary methods were used to construct a story of one artist’s struggles to survive and sustain his music career during the COVID-19 pandemic—a story that demonstrates how musicking is an everyday entertainment practice that fulfils deep psychological needs, persisting even in the most difficult circumstances by adapting. The account also contends that musicking directly and indirectly supports community resilience.
Construct (python library) · Entertainment · Entertainment industry · Ethnography · Everyday life · Kenya · Narrative · Diverse Music Education Insights · Diverse Musicological Studies · Music History and Culture
Verbal interjections and the making of Awillo Mike as a social representation of “lived lives and storied lives” in live music performance in Kenya
The longitudinal influence of hedonic and eudaimonic entertainment preferences on psychological resilience and wellbeing
Gestural Perspectives on Popular-Music Performance
Fight the Power
Music is Sweet When Your Praises Are Sung
Archives of a pandemic
Identity processes and musicians during the Covid-19 pandemic
Music and Politics in Africa
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |