Group therapy was in Abuja about a year ago for its first edition, and while people had a phenomenal time, there were remarks about “passiveness” – especially by people engaging with a typical Abuja crowd for the first time. It was a watershed moment of sorts, and in the year since then, a lot has changed. Abuja’s rave community spent the time adding to its ranks, from organisers and attendees proving they can sustain weekly events, to a crop of DJs that have risen to meet the city’s rising thirst for movement.

The return of Group Therapy to the capital city was met with palpable excitement. Curated by Aniko (more on this icon later), an elite lineup of sound selectors easily won over the city’s electronic music loyalists. Yet, looking out at the sprawling crowd, many wondered where this sudden surge of bodies had come from.

“Where are these guys every week?” we jokingly asked, but in truth we already knew the answer. This wasn’t just another rave night; it was Abuja’s de facto EDM event of the year, and few players in the Nigerian event space could guarantee a product so potent.

For the second edition of Group Therapy Abuja, there was a clear intention to improve on everything from the first edition. Abuja had proven we’d dance even in the hills of Guzape, but this time, Bali Abuja was a perfect venue, located centrally to most attendees. The layout was spacious and easy to navigate, with a dome that gave the cathedral effect and still allowed for an exterior feeling. Ventilation and consumer comfort were accounted for down to fine details; vendors provided refreshments, and there were rest corners for those who needed it. The acoustics were tight, and GT’s trademark lighting set a tone that never felt overwhelming. A production that covered every angle without ever feeling like it.

From Start to Finish

For the opening acts, the results of Abuja’s evolution started the night strong. Raetheelefty’s debut at GT was a culmination of hours of sets across the city where she rightly earned her moniker. The Techno Mama’s opening set served as a percussive, groove-heavy warm-up. Starting from around 9:30, she held the group therapy earlybirds — a blend of Raetheleftists and other raveheads — in a vein of melodies that wove together her Deep House, Afro Tech and Techno influences for two hours of infectious music marked with notable selections like Manoo’s remix of DJEFF’s Mercedes. She played on for a little over two hours before ending her set in front of a room that now held hundreds of people applauding an impressive debut.

Next up was Coasta. A staple of the scene in Abuja, “Mr Disaster” stunned even his most devout listeners — blending mixes so seamlessly they felt like they’d always existed. The highlight of his set was a gauntlet run at the final thirty minutes: a smooth segue of Rema’s WAR MACHINE into NDLOH Jnr’s Dance, and a Gqom Sicko Mode I was too busy dancing to record. It had been insane, but the night was nowhere near over.

The first time WeAreAllChemicals played Abuja, she came to headline a rave on the same night as Motion, and we got a surprise B2B with Kevin LNDN that blew minds, so it was safe to say that many GT attendees came expectant. WeAreAllChemicals took off at an urgent pace, colliding her high-BPM pop and Gqom mixes with a crowd that could not help but move. By the time 99 Problems, Rapid Fire (yes, I know!) came through, the dance floor was a sea of swaying bodies bathed in Group Therapy’s colours because WeAreAllChemicals simply wouldn't let anyone stand still.

Then Abuja finally got to say hello to J Gadget. He stepped up to the decks just past 1:00 am and started with a melodious interpolation of Vuka as his first drop. From stirring 3-Step gem Mabebuza to a mix of Rihanna’s We Found Love, J Gadget united the room in rhythmic consonance that he then used to devastating effect. By the time he’d gotten to his favourites, there was no doubt; Dali had been teased all night, and when the needle drop eventually came, euphoria had taken the room. A foray into Victony’s Slick by way of Money Trees Gqom was the treat of his set; a sequence he’d popularised himself online and on stages the world over.  Knowing it would happen and experiencing the rapturous screams when it did were different things, and J Gadget had the cathedral in his hands for over an hour, repeatedly producing moments from so deep in his bag that he undoubtedly convinced many to seek out more experiences like these.

Aniko was up next, and Abuja found yet another gear. Group Therapy’s general took the night with her trademark calm demeanour, a far cry from the rotation of bangers she put out. Her impressive run featured many contemporary hits from across the years retrofitted for the African electronic dance music scene. A remix of Rema’s TEA was followed by an energetic mix of  ZayLevelTen’s Bali that swept up Bali, Abuja. Every song raised the energy in the room – with Aniko’s remix of Lojay’s Tenner raising the roof.

Yosa, tasked with closing, took off at a pace that asked the crowd to find even more energy. No stranger to playing in the capital, he made it easy to tap into reserves, starting with a mix of Body Count at >123 BPM, and his song selection refused to let the night go. Yosa’s set maintained an upward trajectory, mixing Wizkid’s Don’t Dull with Blak Dave’s KESHI to spearhead a run that culminated in an unbelievable mix of Uche Agu’s My God is Good that took the crowd to church and had the room chanting “Everything na double double” over Naija House Mafia’s Bani Kudi.

But the night that was supposed to end at 4:30am just wouldn’t stop. Aniko came back to the decks and surprised the audience with a B2B with Naija House Mafia metronome Jamie Black, and together, they kept the party going. Without a doubt, the energy peaked when they teased the crowd with the new OGBA remix featuring Mavo. A moment.

From that point, we entered a medley of DJs eager to entertain a crowd that simply refused to go home. Newcomer,CTRL K kept the vibes going as the sun threatened to rise. At 5:30 am, they finally relented, bringing what had been an immaculate night to a wonderful end.

A Night To Remember

They say comparison is the thief of joy, but I’d argue that in cases like this, a juxtaposition evokes more positive thoughts than not. A year ago, Group Therapy brought its trademark neon washlights to Strange Village Studios in Asokoro and the reception was incredible, but when you lay the two nights side by side, the gap is hard to miss. Edition one happened at Strange Village Studios in Asokoro: a rave in a building that looks unfinished from the outside but serves its purpose as a sonic studio. It was in the city, but not quite in the centre, and for all its industrial promise, certain voices argued that Abuja could’ve done better. Atmos Blaq and Dankie Boi headlined, Aniko went B2B with Adeyi, the night closed around 4:30 am, and it was the edition that drew the “passiveness” remarks.

Edition two improved on every single one of these fronts. Bali Abuja sits in the City Park, right in the middle of the city, an event space with a food court and a cafe, big enough for the crowd that still had room to spread out. Almost 2,500 people showed up, nearly double the year before, and they did not come to stand still: they had arguably the best of the UK (J Gadget), the best of Lagos (Aniko, WeAreAllChemicals and Yosa) and two of the newer yet notable selectors on the Abuja scene (Raethelefty and Coasta); , Jamie Black played the Mavo version of OGBA on the stage during a surprise B2B with Aniko, and the night ran an hour later, to 5:30 am. By the time the production team was ready to wrap up, there was still a crowd of people refusing to leave, showing that the vibe was clearly different this year. The reasons are not hard to find: the location, GT’s accumulated appeal, and an Abuja scene that spent the year growing up.

A year ago the question was whether Abuja would move, but this time, thankfully, the question was where all these people had been hiding.

Group Therapy Abuja II was everything you wanted it to be: a celebration of Abuja’s homegrown talent and a display of what the scene could become with consistency and belief. This event was proof that Abuja is very much alive and will show up; we love music and communion, and we will dance till our hearts are full, so here’s to hoping we don’t have to wait a year for the next edition.