Having travelled the world for nearly 20 years and collaborated with more than 1,500 musical luminaries, the Red Bull Music Academy Weekender comes to South Africa – and Africa – for the very first time. Taking place from Thursday the 1st to Sunday the 4th September 2016, the South African RBMA Weekender will host no less than 60 acts from across the country, continent and world, covering a range of genres from hip hop and ragga to electronica and house music.
The lineup will play across six iconic music venues in and around downtown Johannesburg, including Bassline, 1 Fox, And Club, Kitcheners, Carfaxx, Great Dane and Zone 6. Each event, from day to night, will offer a mix of sounds and festivalgoers can expect to be taken on different musical journeys over the four days.
I t a l l b e g i n s o n T h u r s d a y a t t h e l e g e n d a r y B a s s l i n e i n N e w t o w n , t o m a n y a h o m e o f t h e Johannesburg music scene. Bassline has been hosting incredible musicians for more than two decades, and on Thursday it will host the RBMA Weekender’s reggae night, featuring masters of the sound African Storm Sound System with Admiral and Jahseedand special guests.
Braamfontein and Newtown’s cultural melting pot of music, fashion, culture and style is the
p e r f e c t p l a y g r o u n d f o r F r i d a y n i g h t a s w e m o v e t h e p a r t y t o l e g e n d a r y v e n u e s A n d C l u b , Kitchener’s,Carfaxxand Great Dane.A power lineup of Thebe, Felix Laband, Beat Sampras, Niskerone vs Hyphen, Kenzhero, G Force & Craig Placid, Sketchy Bongo and Aewon Wolfand many more will drop beats, bass, techno and everything in between until the early hours. All centrally located and close to each other, festivalgoers can move easily between venues and stages for over eight hours of nonstop music.
The pinnacle of the RBMA Weekender programme takes place Saturday night on 3September at 1Foxin downtown Joburg, where New Zealand natives and global sensations Fat Freddy’s Dropwill headline. Fat Freddy’s Drop are a sevenpiece band from Wellington whose musical style has been characterised as any combination of dub, reggae, soul, jazz, rhythm and blues, and techno. AKA,Nigeria’s Patoranking,Christian Tiger School andJullian Gomes,among others, will keep the crowds humming until 2 AM.
Sundays are where it’s at in Joburg’s biggest township, and on 4th September, the RBMA Weekender moves to Zone 6 in Soweto. Kicking off at 3 PM, audiences can look forward to phenomenal live performances from Black Coffee, Culoe De Song, Riky Rick, Oskido, King Bruce, and Mafia Boyz.
Chopper Reeds, aka Scott Towers, of Fat Freddy’s Drop says he and the band are excited to be playing in South Africa for the first time. “Fans can look forward to some Fat Freddy’s Drop classics as this’ll be the first time we’ve performed them in South Africa. And some box fresh vibes as we’ll be fighting fit after a fourweek European tour just prior to the RBMA Weekender,” says Chopper Reeds.
While in the country, the band also plans to see the sights and hook up with some of the local heavyweights like Black Coffee.
To see the full RBMA Weekender lineup visit http://redbull.co.za/RBMAWeekenderJozi.
A full weekend programme will compliment and amplify the music experiences. These include a series of workshops, installations and collaborations between musicians and industry talent focusing on African music, culture and sounds. The programme will be released soon on http://redbull.co.za/RBMAWeekenderJozi.
Buy your tickets now – Early Bird tickets are limited
Both day and full weekend passes are available, ensuring you can create the RBMA Weekender experience that suits you. A limited number of Early Bird tickets have just been released at only R400 for the full weekend. Thereafter weekend passes will be R500.
Day passes:
Thursday 1 September: R120 Friday 2 September: R120 Saturday 3 September: R400 Sunday 4 September: R120
Anyone who preregistered will receive an SMS detailing how you can secure your tickets.
Visit http://redbull.co.za/RBMAWeekenderJozi to buy your tickets and sign up for news and updates.
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