Audience Reception of Indigenous Music at Cultural Festivals in Kogi State

This study investigates audience reception of indigenous music performances at cultural festivals in Kogi State, North Central Nigeria. Kogi State, situated at the confluence of the Niger and Benue rivers, is home to a diverse array of ethnic groups including the Igala, Ebira, Okun, and Bassa, each with distinct musical traditions. State-organised cultural festivals provide rare platforms where indigenous music is performed for mixed audiences comprising both insiders and outsiders. This research examines how different audience segments perceive, engage with, and evaluate indigenous music presentations at the Kogi State Cultural Festival, exploring factors such as cultural familiarity, entertainment value, aesthetic appreciation, and educational interest. A survey design is employed, with structured questionnaires administered to 250 festival attendees selected through convenience sampling. Additional data are gathered through exit interviews and focus group discussions with six groups representing different ethnic affiliations. The study draws on audience reception theory and recent literature on cultural festivals as public cultural education spaces in Africa. Findings are expected to reveal differences in appreciation across ethnic and generational lines and will inform recommendations for festival programming that promotes cross-cultural musical engagement across communities in the North Central zone. Keywords: Audience reception, indigenous music, cultural festivals, Kogi State, cultural diversity.