“Play hard, tread lightly”
That is the motto of South Africa’s largest green music festival, Rocking the Daisies, taking place from the 1st to the 4th of October this year. They are celebrating their 10th birthday this year and seem to be pulling out all the stops when coming to organising the event.
Over the last month they have announced, to massive anticipation, not one but three stellar international artists who will be headlining their 10th edition. These are The Cat Empire, an Australian band who are world renowned for being one of the best live acts, Milky Chance, a German duo whose tunes everyone seems to be basking in these days and The Kooks – everybody’s favourite British indie rockers will be returning to SA to potentially set the stage on fire this year.
Run by Seed Experiences, who have brought the likes of Bastille, UB40, The Lumineers, Passenger, and Ben Howard to our shores, Rocking the Daisies are indeed beginning to make quite a name for themselves. Over the last ten years they have built a fan base of around 50 000 and have extended their relatively restricted venue to hold 22 000 festival goers! That’s pretty good going for a festival that, when I made my debut appearance there in 2009, had a 14 000 capacity and an, admittedly, slightly less impressive line up.
On top of three incredible international headliners, a few of South Africa’s best have also been announced to take to the stage. These are PHfat – the rap crew who have fast gained national popularity as one of the liveliest, most energetic – and somewhat censored – local acts. Their international reputation is building too, and they recently performed at England’s own Great Escape Festival. Also, Bongeziwe Mabandla, with a name as African as it comes; his blends of urban-African folk has seen him take to the stage in countries including Germany, Spain, Japan and Australia. Fokofpolisiekar – when translated from the Afrikaans their name means, quite literally, “Fuck off police car”. Despite a name and a reputation which has sparked significant controversy in South African media, their explosive performances are not ones to miss.
If you happen to be in the country around that time and are interested in perusing some of our fantastic local talent – as well as getting a chance to see several internationally acclaimed artists – do make your way to Cloof Wine Estate, a mere 100km from our stunning mother city, Cape Town. I assure you, you won’t be disappointed.
Tickets available here.
Words by Skye Mallac
@SkyeAylaMallac