Coaster Ojwang performs at ‘The Fisherman’s Experience’ held at Tom Mboya Labour College in Kisumu on May 31, 2025.
In less than five years, Coster Ojwang has journeyed from the quiet strokes of a paintbrush to the vibrant stage lights of global music. The 34-year-old painter has reinvented himself as a contemporary impressionist whose artistry now flows through melody.
His talent caught the attention of Sauti Sol’s Sol Generation, securing him a publishing deal and now his sound has set him on even bigger stages.
Fresh from a show-stopping performance at Blankets & Wines in the United Kingdom, Ojwang steps into yet another milestone moment. He performs this Saturday at Kenny G‘s One Night Only concert.
Coaster Ojwang performs at ‘The Fisherman’s Experience’ held at Tom Mboya Labour College in Kisumu on May 31, 2025.
My sound isn’t built for the mass market; it lives in a niche. But it has opened doors I never expected. I’ve found myself on stages I never thought I’d reach. For me, it is proof that authenticity speaks louder than trends, and that being different isn’t a bad thing after all.
Until 2020, I never planned to pursue music as a career. I was fully immersed in my work as a painter. But when the pandemic hit, I suddenly had too much time on my hands. I started making music just for fun.
My friend had a studio in Kisumu, and I would go record for free. I wanted to do English songs but he said no, sing in Luo. So I made Tales of a Fisherman album in 2021 and boom! I just saw a huge interest in my music. That is when my musical journey truly began.
When that debut album dropped, there was plenty of chatter online but no bookings. I remember asking myself, ‘What if I make all this music, but no one knows me? Who will ever book me? Instead of waiting, I dipped into the money I had saved from selling my paintings and staged my own small shows. That gamble worked.
Coaster Ojwang performs at ‘The Fisherman’s Experience’ held at Tom Mboya Labour College in Kisumu on May 31, 2025.
For the shows, I put together a small band – a guitarist, a drummer, and a keyboardist. We were just four then. Today, we are a 10-man outfit. When I was starting out, no one was booking artists doing contemporary music. The twist for me was adding a band, doing live shows, recording and sharing on social media. Soon after, the bookings started to come.
By the time I ventured into music, I already had a stable art business in Nairobi. I knew how to market paintings, curate exhibitions, and even tour internationally with my work. I still do art exhibitions to date, locally and abroad.
Since starting music, my philosophy has always been simple. Keep expenses low and save as much as possible.
Another commercial breakthrough for me came when I began collaborating with established artists across genres, names like Okello Max, Watendawili, Serro, and Swiga. Those partnerships widened my reach, connected me to new audiences, and the bookings increased.
I grew up in Awendo in a normal Kenyan household. We were broke, but I did not know it. I only realised when other children got nguo za Christmas. That’s when I knew our life was different.
When bathing, we all shared one bar of soap. The same soap was our lotion. But heaven help you if the rains catch you outside and the soap on your skin begins to lather and get into your eyes. You will scream. Our bathroom was made of twigs. It was tough, but somehow fun.
Coaster Ojwang performs at ‘The Fisherman’s Experience’ held at Tom Mboya Labour College in Kisumu on May 31, 2025.
My grandma was a very sophisticated woman. She was a herbalist and a seer. She could foresee certain things, and they would happen. She loved to make bonfires with huge smoke, and old men would sit around her and trust her judgment. There are things about her that I have never seen in another woman.
She inspired my music. Many of my songs carry her melodies. She sang constantly. If no one came to gather around the bonfire, she would sit alone and sing. For her, it was meditation. Her brother, on the other hand, was a witch doctor.
I was very close to her. Always her errand boy. I fetched plants and roots for her herbal remedies. That’s how I learned to prepare traditional herb remedies, which I still occasionally use in place of modern medicine.
