Gambia's biggest music festival which is called the 'Open Mic Festival' this year is scheduled to take place at the Independence Stadium December 28th. According to the organisers at their Press Conference at the Africell radio Wednesday afternoon said, this year's festival is officially and proudly sponsored by Youki, black Lynx and Africell.

According to the organisers, the open Mic festival continues to provide the biggest live audience platforms for recording and performing artists in the Gambia. They said it is largely responsible for giving urban Gambian music its greatest gift and hope that careers can be built and livelihoods earned by pursuing one's passion for the art of music. The organisers of the show told music journalists that this has enhanced the spirit of competition and has encouraged artists to work even harder in order to be more visible.

Officials said this is the 5th year in a row they have staged successful open Mic Festivals and they are proud to say that over 200,000 Gambians go to see open mic including important dignitaries.

Abdul Karim Faye who is commonly called Wagan said around 2007, the music industry was a little dormant and that's why they came together to see how they can give Gambian music some life. He said so many artists have passed through the open mic and that the show plays a very important role in their music careers. He thanks the media for always supporting the open mic and was quick to say that it is a national event and everybody should contribute their quota.

Wagan said every year they have problems with the kind of artists they would put in the show to perform because now Gambia has so many good artists. He said they cannot all perform one night and highlighted some of the criteria's they look for in an artist to perform at the open mic. Wagan Faye said the first criteria is that the artist has to pass through the monthly open Mic Festivals, the artist has to be visible and popular, the artist has to do lot of performances in the past, the artist need to get popular music that many Gambians know about and the artist needs to be relevant.

THE ARTIST LINE UP FOR 2012 OPEN MIC FESTIVAL

1. Manding Morry 2. Gee 3. T Smallz

4. Jali Madi 5. ENC 6. Bro K.

7. Vypa 8. S.T 9. Papa Lengthy

10. Mighty Joe 11. Magnificent Joe 12. Slam G

13. Rebellion The Recaller

Wagan and the Black Lynx family said all the artists will be backed by a live performance and calling on all Gambians to grace the occasion.