Light Up Entertainment and other key stakeholders in the Entertainment Industry have highlighted the advantages Port Harcourt City holds for advancing the fortunes of artists.

Some of them include the Chief Executive Officer of Grafton Records, Tonye Ibiama, KO Baba Jornsen, aka Mayor of Pitakwa, Chief Executive Officer of Light Up Entertainment, Happy Agi, Sreal August, Rydaman, Jaydee Vibes, and Jephy Nile, amongst others.

Light Up Entertainment CEO, Happy Agi said his firm is poised on bridging the identified gaps in talent management, noting that there was a dearth of platforms to promote young and upcoming talents.

“We have identified a gap in the music industry and we intend to close that gap, which is not about dearth of talents but about promoting the talents, and providing platforms to showcase those talents. That is the gap we want to close.

He informed that the Light Up Port Harcourt vision was birthed on Wednesday, December 27, 2023, and aims to sell Port Harcourt to the world by projecting Garden City’s talents to the world.

He further informed that the first outing took place on Saturday, March 9, 2024, but a second one, which according to him, promises to be a special edition, comes up on Sunday, September 15, 2024.

“It is going to be an all-Port Harcourt artists show. We want to tell the world that we are here and that we have so many talents.

He extolled Grafton Records CEO, Tonye Ibiama for being “a pioneer and a major backbone to this vision. He is a big anchor with decades of work”.

On his part, CEO of Grafton Records, Tonye Ibiama informed that his company has been in the business of identifying, nurturing, and promoting artists from Port Harcourt, stressing that he always believed in talents from the City and remains committed to honing their skills and projecting them on the world stage.

“We are trying to celebrate talents in Port Harcourt music zone. Our company has always picked up talents from Port Harcourt, and Nigeria has always harvested and enjoyed musicians from Port Harcourt over the decades.

“We have tried to create platforms for Port Harcourt artists to show themselves to the world. The platform called ‘Climax Night’ produced Burna Boy who is now the king of Africa. The truth is, no platform, no talent. The drive is not only for national artists but for upcoming ones.”

Speaking, K.O. Baba expressed his support for initiatives aimed at promoting homogenous talents from Port Harcourt, thanking the Media for its support, stressing the need to support the creative industry and engaging the government and well-meaing individuals and organizations to invest in the growth of the industry.

Other speakers also called on the people of Rivers State to embrace and celebrate their own music artists, standup comedians, and actors.

They emphasized that supporting local talent is crucial in helping these artists achieve their full potential in the music industry, adding that by fostering a supportive community Rivers State can become a significant hub for musical talent.