The Homeless tour came to Futminna.
As the homeless tour approaches it’s highly anticipated Lagos Grande finale, Nigerian star Llona made his presence felt at the Indoor sports complex of the Federal university of technology, Minna – the tours penultimate stop.
It was a moment students had long been waiting for since the event was announced as a part of Llona’s Homeless tour. Llona, whose Homeless album enjoyed nationwide acceptance has been the driving force behind the 25 stop national tour, the biggest national tour in recent years.
There was an air of skepticism among some in the hours leading up to the event. It had been years since a truly buzzing artist came to FUTMinna. The last big act billed to perform was Peruzzi back in 2019, but that show never happened due to security and logistics issues. Since then, there have been murmurs, including rumors of an Odumodublvck concert that never came to life. So when Llona was announced, students were excited, yes, but there seemed to be some caution.
The crowd waited. Hours passed. Speakers blared popular Nigerian records to keep the crowd going, but everyone who showed up was there for one reason. He didn’t show up until well past midnight, and by then, the energy in the arena had dipped. Local acts had taken the stage earlier in the evening, offering glimpses of the school’s emerging talent pool, but the atmosphere was more anticipation than engagement.
That changed instantly when, at around 1:15 AM, Llona stepped on stage. He opened with Can’t Breathe, and the response was electric. Energy filled the room as every lyric was echoed back by the crowd, word for word. From there, he ran through a tightly packed set drawn from his debut album. Popular records like Cold War, Another Day, Comforter, HBP, Gangster love letter, and finally, Still Sacred, which closed out his 45-minute performance on an emotional note.
It was quick, but memorable. Llona connected with the crowd instantaneously. He felt like one of us. One of the night’s most striking moments came midway through the set when Llona paused, asked the crowd for a can of Black Bullet, and downed it right there on stage. A moment that only made his appearance feel more real.
Yes, the crowd might have hoped for a longer set, but what we got was more than enough. Especially considering how long it has been since the school has experienced a night like this. It didn’t feel like a star came to perform in our school, he felt like one of us. There was no distance, no pedestal, just presence.
For one night, the stage was a bridge. And on the other side of it was Llona, singing not at us, but with us.
