With her concert at Kampala Serena Hotel locked in for September 11, 2026, Grace Nakimera is giving fans more than just a ticket to look forward to. She is giving them a window into her musical soul. Asked to name her three favourite Ugandan songs, the celebrated artist reached not for the current charts but for the archives, landing firmly in the territory of legends whose music has aged like fine wine. It is a choice that says everything about where her artistic compass points.
A Playlist Built on Legacy
There is something quietly powerful about a prominent artist admitting that the music which moves them most was made by people who came before them. For Nakimera, the list is not a marketing exercise or a diplomatic gesture toward older colleagues. It reads more like a personal confession, the kind of musical honesty that earns respect across generations.
As reported by Mbu Uganda, her three picks draw from the catalogues of Juliana Kanyomozi, Maddox Sematimba, and Judith Babirye, three artists whose names alone carry the full weight of Ugandan music history. The selection spans secular brilliance and gospel conviction, which, coincidentally, mirrors the very approach Nakimera herself has promised to bring to her Serena Hotel show.
Juliana Kanyomozi: The Standard Bearer
Juliana Kanyomozi has long occupied a space in Ugandan music that few artists can realistically claim. She is not just popular; she is respected in the way that only consistency and craft can manufacture over time. Her voice, her stage presence, and her ability to make deeply personal songs feel universally relatable have made her a fixture on any serious list of East African greats.
For Nakimera to include a Juliana track among her top three is less a surprise and more a confirmation of something most Ugandan music lovers already suspect privately: that Kanyomozi’s body of work contains songs so well-constructed that even fellow professionals return to them for inspiration. There is a reason her music keeps finding new audiences decades after its release.
Maddox Sematimba: The Catalogue That Keeps Giving
Maddox Sematimba is the kind of artist whose catalogue rewards the loyal listener. Dig into his work and you will find something for every mood, every occasion, and every chapter of life. He built his reputation on music that was simultaneously of its time and somehow timeless, a balance that eludes most artists entirely.
Nakimera’s selection of a Maddox track speaks to a specific truth about great music: it does not ask for context to land emotionally. You do not need to have been alive when the song was recorded to feel its weight. That staying power is precisely why a working artist in 2026 still counts his songs among her personal favourites.
Judith Babirye: Gospel Rooted in Genuine Faith
Judith Babirye represents a different but equally important strain of Ugandan musical identity. Her gospel music carries a spiritual sincerity that connects with listeners on a level that transcends entertainment. For many Ugandans, her songs are not just background music; they are moments of reflection, comfort, and genuine worship.
Nakimera’s inclusion of Babirye on this list is particularly telling given that her upcoming concert is being billed as a blend of secular hits and gospel. There is clearly a spiritual thread running through her artistic identity, and Babirye’s music appears to be part of what stitched it together.
What This List Actually Tells Us
Read between the lines and Nakimera’s three picks are not just a catalogue of personal taste. They are a statement about the kind of artist she aspires to be: one whose music lasts, one whose work earns the respect of peers and successors alike, one who creates something real enough to survive the relentless churn of trends.
Each name on her list, Kanyomozi, Maddox, Babirye, represents a different dimension of musical longevity. One defined by vocal excellence and emotional depth, another by melodic craft and cultural resonance, and the third by spiritual authenticity. Together, they sketch a portrait of the complete Ugandan artist, and they suggest that Nakimera has studied that portrait very carefully.
The Serena Hotel Show Looms Large
All of this context makes the September 11 concert feel like more than just an evening of live music. It positions the event as a kind of artistic declaration, a night where Nakimera will attempt to honour the legacy that artists like her top three helped build, while adding her own chapter to Uganda’s musical story.
Mixing secular hits with gospel in a single show is a bold structural choice, but it is one that becomes far less surprising once you understand the influences she carries. These are not genres she is trying to merge for novelty. They are two sides of the same musical upbringing, and the Serena Hotel stage may be where she brings them together most completely yet.
Uganda’s music scene has always produced artists who refuse to be defined by a single sound, and Nakimera is clearly cut from that cloth. Her favourite songs are proof that the artists who shaped that tradition still have something vital to say, even to the generation now carrying the torch forward.
So here is the question worth sitting with: if you had to pick three Ugandan songs that genuinely shaped how you hear music, which artists would make your list, and would any of your picks surprise people who think they know your taste?
