By Rihaab Mowlana

How a Grammy-winning artist, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, and a Sri Lankan tech genius are betting big on Colombo's global entertainment moment.

When Grammy-winner Ne-Yo lands in Colombo this December, it won’t just be another celebrity concert. It will be the launchpad of Brown Boy Pvt Ltd, a bold new venture bringing world-class entertainment to South Asia, with its roots firmly planted in Sri Lankan soil.

We caught up with co-founders Amith Boteju and Champike Munasinghe to talk about how it all started and what success really looks like when you're building more than just a show, you're building a legacy.

How did the three of you - Ne-Yo, Amith, and Champike - come together to form Brown Boy Pvt Ltd? What’s the story behind that first conversation?
Amith: So, how we came together was that I had a relationship with Ne-Yo for over 10 years. I was introduced to him by one of my NBA friends, Dwight Howard, and then we started working on other business ventures. He’s also an investor in a couple of tech companies I advise, based out of Silicon Valley.

I know Champike through a good friend who referred him to me, saying he’s the IT genius. We’ve always been talking about doing something in Sri Lanka.
Since Champike has been doing a lot of business in Sri Lanka, navigating everything from private companies to government and public sector projects, we felt it was the right time. We’ve wanted to do something amazing for Sri Lanka in the entertainment sector for a while now.

Champike, you’ve built businesses in over 20 countries. What convinced you that Sri Lanka was ready for an international concert economy, and that now was the time?
Champike: Well, we were always convinced that Sri Lanka was ready; we have a vibrant history where music and entertainment have always been part of the community, economy and culture. Probably, we created the concept of “concert economy” thousands of years ago with festivals like “thovil” and “perahara”.

We have been discussing building an entertainment circuit based out of Sri Lanka for some time, and Ne-Yo coming on board gave us an extremely unique and advantageous position. We also have tremendous support from the government of Sri Lanka, especially the Ministry of Tourism and the Tourism Minister and the Ministry of Sports and the Sports Minister. 

I think it is more about the right components aligning at the right time. With the economic crisis, we also saw that Sri Lanka could use alternative foreign income sources that do not depend on physical exports. We saw that tourism thrived even during wartime, and today we see this is one area that is not affected by the whole tariff issue. With high-end entertainment, we can easily attract high-spending tourists, much like how countries like Singapore, Thailand, Sweden, and Malta have done with their concert economies over the years. Let's not forget we have over 2 million USD Millionaires and millions more who are hungry for high-end entertainment within a couple of hours from Colombo.

What can fans expect from this show in December? Will it be a classic Ne-Yo setlist or something more tailored to a South Asian audience?
Amith: No, I think one of the biggest things, especially with me being from America, was wanting to bridge the Western part of the world to South Asia. One of our main goals was to bring top world-class entertainment to the region.

With that being said, we’re definitely going to highlight and showcase a lot of local talent. We want to give them those opportunities because it’s important to show that some of these talented Sri Lankan artists can open the show, perform at afterparties, and be part of an event with a top-tier artist like Ne-Yo. Giving opportunities to locals has been a goal of mine.

And yeah, as far as Ne-Yo goes, it’s going to be all the major hits: So Sick, Mad, Miss Independent… I mean, the list goes on.

What were the biggest logistical or creative challenges in bringing a Grammy-winning artist to Colombo, and how did you overcome them?
Amith: I mean, logistically, America is 9,000 miles away from Sri Lanka, and Ne-Yo is bringing his entire family and his full team. You’re looking at an eight-piece band, plus crew, about 22 people in total. So logistically, ticketing is one thing, but also making sure we give Ne-Yo the hospitality and treatment that matches a top-tier A-list artist is very important.

But we have the team. I think Sri Lanka is in a great space right now; everyone’s looking for something fresh and new. The economics have improved tremendously, so in terms of feasibility, it’s there.

With amazing support from partners like Mastercard, Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts, PickMe, C-Vibes, Wijeya Newspapers, Scope Cinemas and everyone else coming on board, the regional push for this event is going to be massive. Especially in December, Sri Lankans from all over the world will be flying in.

Champike has been one of the key people driving this forward, working directly on production, equipment, and making sure the rider is handled and fulfilled. He’s done an amazing job putting everything together without any middlemen. We’re handling all operations and partnerships in-house, including brands and sponsors.

And for me, having the experience of doing this in China and bringing artists there, I already understand what this operation looks like. So for Sri Lanka, it’s really just a copy-and-paste model for us.

There’s a lot of talk about event tourism. How exactly do you see concerts contributing to Sri Lanka’s economic and cultural revival?
Amith: You know, when you bring talent like Ne-Yo to Sri Lanka, you’re eventually going to start thinking beyond just the Sri Lankan community. Obviously, Sri Lankans living in places like Dubai, Australia, Italy, Canada, and America they’re going to come to see Ne-Yo.

But I think the most important thing is that Ne-Yo is still so big. Ne-Yo could go to Japan right now, do a show, and fill out 20,000 people.

So the goal is to cultivate all these different types of people and ethnicities, get them to come to Sri Lanka, experience the country, go on tours, and explore everything it has to offer. The opportunity here is much bigger than just Sri Lanka.

When you announce that someone at Ne-Yo’s level is coming to Sri Lanka, we can take that and market it to places like Japan and beyond, to people who aren’t Sri Lankan but still listen to Ne-Yo. And now they have a reason to fly here, see the concert, and experience the country.

Is Brown Boy Pvt Ltd already planning more concerts or festivals? Can you tease any names or genres you’re eyeing next?
Amith: I mean, the goal is to bring top-class, top-tier artists to the country. My relationships with artists, entertainers, and celebs, I mean, from Akon to Chris Brown, to Swizz Beatz, Alicia Keys, the relationships I’ve built over the last 10–15 years working in the music business are there.

The contacts are there. The opportunities are there. But again, it’s really about setting up shop, getting that first show in Sri Lanka right, fixing all the little nitty-gritty things that come up. We’re not going to be perfect, but the goal is to establish Sri Lanka at a top-tier level, from production and stage, to the moment artists walk off the plane, the treatment, and the hospitality.

I want them to feel like, “Wow, I’ve never seen Sri Lanka like this. And since Amith is a friend of mine and welcomed me to his motherland, I’m excited to be here.” That experience has to be there, and it goes both ways, for the artists and the people.

That’s what we’re curating for the next five to ten years to bring in top-tier artists. The contacts will never be a problem for me. I’m well connected. If I can’t get a hold of someone, I know Ne-Yo can.
So at the end of the day, it’s about building a real, positive ecosystem.

Would you ever consider launching a homegrown festival, something like Coachella or Glastonbury, but with a South Asian identity?
Amith: I think the important thing is logistics. When you expand and start building a roster of artists in Sri Lanka, especially at the calibre we’re talking about, logistics and operations become very important.

That’s why we’re starting off with a one-off, à la carte show, headlining one of the biggest artists in the world, Ne-Yo. After that, we’ll come back to the drawing board and see how the audience responds, how the country reacts after this concert.

The overall goal is that we want to have two or three concerts a year at a very high, world-class level. We want to keep bringing these kinds of experiences to Sri Lanka.

But I don’t want to skip steps. I don’t want to start off by saying I’m bringing nine artists when I haven’t even seen what the outcome of bringing the first artist, Ne-Yo, will be. Even though I know it’s going to be very successful, we’re just being very mindful of that.

Amith, as both a musician and entrepreneur, how do you want Brown Boy to change the perception of entertainment in Sri Lanka globally?
Amith: Well, I think it’s about giving our Sri Lankan people the confidence that we can do it here, too. We don’t have to go to Singapore or other countries to watch a concert. I see a lot of Sri Lankans travelling all over South Asia to see and experience these shows.

So one of the main things for me, through Brown Boy, is being able to bring that American swag, that Western culture, to Sri Lanka, to show that we, as Sri Lankans, can do this in our own country. We don’t need to step outside.

And hopefully, people from India and all over South Asia can start coming to Sri Lanka to experience top-class, master-class events.

What does success look like for Brown Boy? Is it sold-out stadiums, or something deeper?
Amith: Success for me is about problem-solving. Being able to solve something that I feel hasn’t been addressed in the history of events in Sri Lanka.

Success is seeing my people happy. It’s hearing them say, “Hey, we can do something of this magnitude in Sri Lanka.” That, to me, is everything.

Whether we break even or even lose money on this concert, success is Ne-Yo coming to Sri Lanka, giving people an amazing show, and showing the rest of the world that we, too, can make it happen, that we can pack a stadium with 20,000 to 30,000 people.

So for me, it’s not really about money. It’s about the spirit and seeing people happy. Once I know that, and once I’ve built a trusted brand, that’s success. Because then it’s game over, I can do this as many times and for as many years as I want to.

Any chance you can give us a little scoop like the official concert date, venue, or surprises in store for fans?
Amith: So, the venue, we’re currently locking in Sugathadasa Outdoor Stadium.

As for the date, I can’t announce it just yet. We’ll be revealing it soon, but it will be happening in December.

In terms of guests, yeah, I’ll be bringing a few of my celebrity friends, some NBA ball players, and others I have relationships with. I’m inviting them to Sri Lanka to come and have a blast with me. That’s the overall goal.