Abstract:
This narrative account of the working career of Kenyan popular “live band” musician
Awillo Mike in 2020 explores the contribution that musicking makes to social resilience.
Ethnographic and literary methods were used to construct a story of one artist’s
struggles to survive and sustain his music career during the COVID-19 pandemic—a
story that demonstrates how musicking is an everyday entertainment practice that
fulfils deep psychological needs, persisting even in the most difficult circumstances by
adapting. The account also contends that musicking directly and indirectly supports
community resilienc