The first annual KigaliUp music festival was September 10, 2011 in the lush Kimihurura Roundabout at Primature Park in Kigali, Rwanda. The brainchild of Juno award-winning Rwandan/Canadian artist Mighty Popo, it was a ground-breaking affair where 30 artists from Rwanda, Africa, Canada and Europe shared their music and culture to an audience of 2000 people, staffed by a volunteer base of 70 people.

KigaliUp's musical palette embraced Rwanda's three ancient musical expressions: Batwa Intwatwa songs, rhythmic Bahutu soundscapes and Batutsi pastoral melodies, plus other sounds birthed from Africa's deep, diverse musical traditions - world music, folk, blues, hip hop, funk, gospel and reggae. KigaliUp! gave Rwandan music a new, central platform, and its musicians fresh exposure to international performers and new sounds and performance approaches.

Kidum, Shanel, Ibihame, Sophia Nzayisenga, Makanyaga Irangira, Kidz Voice, King James, Urunana rw'abadatana, Natty Dread, The Sisters, Tonzi and many more popular and emerging regional artists performed alongside international artists. These included much-loved Congolese/French/Rwandan artist Lokua Kanza, Brooklyn, USA/Canada's blues sensation Shakura S'Aida, Canadian/Rwandan Juno award-winning hip hop maestro Shad Kabango, world music artist Popo Murigande a.k.a Mighty Popo and Burundi/Canadian artists Thierry Kijanya and Nicolas Simbananiye.

KigaliUp helps celebrate Rwanda as an economic and social success story that brings people to see the mountain gorillas, beautiful landscape, artisan markets, villages and lakes