Dapper Live, the live events division of Dapper Group, has been formally recognised by Guinness World Records™ as the organiser of the Largest Orchestra for an Afrobeats Concert, following the official verification of its December 2025 production, Trench Symphony: The Dapper Live Experience, staged in Lagos. The milestone marks an unprecedented moment for Afrobeats and African popular music more broadly.
The concert took place on 16 December 16 at the Balmoral Eko Convention Centre, Federal Palace Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos, where more than 80 orchestra members performed live alongside a headline lineup of Afrobeats artists. The achievement sets a new global benchmark for orchestral presentation within African popular music — a genre that has in recent years extended its reach far beyond the continent into mainstream charts across Europe and North America.
The event was conceived and executive produced by Damilola ‘Dapper’ Akinwunmi, Group Chief Executive Officer of Dapper Group, whose stated ambition was to reframe Afrobeats not as a genre defined by its commercial ubiquity alone, but as one capable of occupying the grandest stages in world music. The production assembled a full live orchestra under the musical direction of Bazzman Sam, with the baton shared between conductors Fatola and Clintonic, who guided the ensemble through an evening that fused classical orchestration with the rhythmic drive and melodic character that has made Afrobeats a defining sound of the twenty-first century.
Performing on the night were T.I Blaze, TML Vibez, Bhadboi OML, Rybeena, Lasmid, Cazulee, Kashcoming and DWillsHarmony, with the evening further distinguished by special guest appearances from Fuji legends King Dr. Saheed Osupa and KS1 Malaika — a pairing that situated Trench Symphony within a broader arc of Nigerian musical heritage.
The logistical and creative machinery behind the record attempt was considerable. Multi-role coordinator Kelechi ‘Chopper’ Aquari oversaw cross-departmental production functions, while creative direction was handled by Director K. Sound — a critical variable in any live production seeking to balance the acoustic mass of a full orchestra against amplified contemporary vocalists — was managed by Temitayo ‘Tee Y Mix’ Ibitoye, with engineering by Mr Bassey. The event was directed by Dunni Akinwunmi, who oversaw production logistics in close coordination with show producer Mojoyin of Owambe Events, who was credited with ensuring the seamless execution of the evening from start to finish.
Speaking following the official record confirmation, Akinwunmi described the project as the product of a long-held conviction about African music’s rightful place in the global cultural order.
“We did not set out simply to break a record, we set out to create a defining cultural moment,” he continued. “This achievement demonstrates what is possible when African vision, excellence and scale converge. From Lagos to the world, Afrobeats continues to expand its creative boundaries.”
The confirmation arrives at a moment of sustained global momentum for Afrobeats, a genre that has increasingly drawn orchestral collaborations into its orbit — from large-scale festival productions to studio arrangements underpinning some of its most commercially successful recordings. Dapper Live’s achievement now provides a formally documented reference point for that evolution, with Lagos positioned explicitly as its site of origin.
Following the Guinness World Records™ confirmation, Dapper Live has announced that Trench Symphony will embark on a major 2026 tour spanning ten Nigerian states before travelling to international markets. Confirmed destinations include London, Birmingham and Dublin in the United Kingdom, as well as Paris and select cities in Canada. Tour dates and ticketing details are to be announced in the coming months.
The record is the first of its kind for the Afrobeats genre globally.
