The South African State Theatre in association with Oppikoppi Productions present Jazz and African Music Nights. The curtain goes up for 2010 in February when we will host Jazz and African Music Nights every weekend until the end of the year.

Since opening of Jazz and African Music Nights on the 5 February at the Rendezvous Theatre, at the State Theatre saw audiences coming from all walks of life to catch the great vibe - people danced the night away to the performances of Norman Chauke, Paul Hanmer and Selaelo Selota.

Mpumi Dhlamini, Jazz Unlimited, Andile Yenana, Solly Mabena, Moss Mogale Unit, Oupa Makhubela, Concord Nkabinde and Rudolph Mamabolo are the musicians who will take to the stage in February, March and April.

Performances start at 20h15, and tickets are available for R60 at Computicket and at the door on the night for R80

Schedule of Preformances for February, March and April:

26 February - Ernest Motlhe with supporting artist Mohau Kekana

5 March - Mpumi Dlamini with supporting artists Jazz Unlimited

19 March - Andile Yenana with supporting artist Solly Mabena

26 March - Moss Mogale Unit with supporting artist Rudolph Mamabolo

2 April - Musa Manzini with supporting artists Four Seasons

16 April - Concord Nkabinde with supporting artist Coleman Machika

30 April - Oupa Makhubela with supporting artist Mainline Nqobeni

Vusi Mahlasela, is simply known as “The Voice” in his home-country, South Africa. Celebrated for his distinct, powerful voice and his poetic, optimistic lyrics, his sound is a hybrid of folk, world, blues and soul, one that connects Apartheid-scarred South Africa with its promise for a better future.

Mahlasela, an accomplished guitarist, percussionist, composer, arranger, band leader and performer, has bridged generations at home and abroad. Over the past three years of heavy, world-wide touring and spreading his message, Mahlasela has remained true to his roots.

Vusi Mahlasela, shall be performing Live on the 15th of December at the Bassline in Johannesburg. Doors open at 8pm and the show starts at 9pm. Tickets are R120 @ computicket and R100 @ the door.

For more information, please contact 011 838 9145/ 6 or visit www.bassline.co.za or www.vusimahlasela.com.  

Multi-talented musical icon, Koos Kombuis, will perform at Backsberg as part of the kykNET Backsberg Picnic Concert series on the 6th of December. Koos Kombuis became famous as part of a group of anti-establishment  maverick Afrikaans musicians, who, under the collective name of  Voelvry (meaning "Outlawed"), toured campuses across South Africa in the 1980's.

With influences including Bob Dylan, Neil Young and George Harrison, audiences can look forward to the poignant lyrics and raw style that have made him the guru of Afrikaans rock music.

Picnics and wine will be on sale at the estate, but feel free to bring your own picnic along.Admission is from 15:00 and the set will start at 17:00.

Tickets are R85 pre-booked (available through http://computicket.co.za/) or R100.00 at the gate. Children under 12 get in for  free.

For a map and directions to the farm and information about the series and upcoming artists see http://www.backsberg.co.za/PicnicConcerts

Upcoming Concerts in December:

13 December, Sunday, aKING Acoustic

20 December, Sunday, Lize Beekman

27 December, Sunday, Gert Vlok Nel

In a ground breaking collaboration between 2 of South Africa’s favourite brands, the 2nd single ‘Life’s design’ from “Stardust Galaxies” , the recently released platinum selling album from the Parlotones has just been super charged. The relationship will see the roll out of one of the most unique 360 degree campaigns the country has ever seen.

KFC will be launching their snacks range along with the Parlotones snack box, these meals are aimed at the youth market who generally do not have the time to keep to regular mealtimes and tend to be hit by inspiration to develop outstanding projects. To capture true inspiration at work an authentic creative process had to be in place which led to the production of the most ambitious music video ever produced in South Africa.

To make the idea even more relevant, we had to make sure that the music video itself was inspired. Directed by maverick director Erik van Wyk, it utilises a technique that has never been used before. The behind the scenes shot over the 3 shoot days will form the basis of the forthcoming TV commercials promoting The Parlotones Snack Box.

The video itself will carry no branding which is a very bold move by KFC who are footing the bill for this ground breaking production. The video will be launched on all channels and online on the 11th of December at 18h27 with an extensive campaign marketing the launch.

So look out for the campaign that rocks, which has been fuelled by KFC snacks and features the universally adored Parlotones.

South African guitar virtuoso, Albert Frost, has won the South African leg of the Doritos Be Heard competition. Not only does this earn Frost esteem and another notch in his belt of achievements but also the grand prize of R200 000.

Says Frost about winning the competition, “This proves that there’s definitely a God up there and He’s eating Doritos”. The winning song, “Television” , was taken from Frost’s debut studio recorded EP, “Devils & Gods” , which was released earlier this year.

The Doritos Be Heard competition is an international competition with legs in Venezuela, Spain, South Africa and Mexico. Musicians from each country are given the opportunity to upload performance clips to the website. The ten most popular clips then progress into the final heat of the competition where fans are able to vote for their favourite clips. The competition ran for the duration of October and November and it was decided, due to most amount of votes, that Albert Frost had won the South African leg and along with it R200 000.

Albert Frost will be celebrating with a gig on New Year’s Eve at The Bank in Rosebank, Johannesburg.

After the remarkable success of the first month of KykNet Irene Summer Series shows, even more exciting artists have been lined up for November. With the same peaceful atmosphere and the landscape in full bloom, these promise to be every bit as memorable as the first month’s shows. Combining the allure of Irene Village Market’s Hennops River and Smuts Hill with the most popular contemporary artists make the perfect fare for leisurely afternoons spent with family.  

Relative newcomer Jakkie Louw is ending off the month on 28 November. He has wooed crowds at almost every big arts festival around the country – and with his boyish good looks and sly smile it’s easy to see why. Despite his youth, he’s been nominated for a SAMA and received numerous other awards. His cheerful ways and happy songs such as Die Hoender song, Drie Pikkewyne en Marietjie se liedjie will make for a particularly enjoyable afternoon of light fun under the trees.

KykNet Irene Summer Series offers an irresistible outing for the whole family. Tickets for these events are available at Computicket at R50 or R50 at the gate. The event will start at 14:00 and last until 17:00.  

It is time for the MK Awards 2010! The nominations in the 12 categories for the MK Awards 2010 will be announced on Friday in a special Nomination show that will be broadcast at 19:00 on MK. The cream of the music videos will be on show and compete for the illustrious title of MK award winner.

Marguerite Wheatly, star of the Clint Eastwood movie Invictus, will be the presenter of the MK Awards 2010. Together with some of the top music journalists in the country, she will unveil the nominees in the categories. There are three brand new categories and quite a few surprises.

Tune in on Friday 29 November at 19:00 on MK, channel 324, to see who will crack a nod in the MK Awards 2010.

The Australian High Commission and Sheer Sound present the Fruitbats & Crows Tour featuring South African singer-songwriter, Farryl Purkiss, and Australian counterpart, Lior.

Purkiss will be showcasing songs from his brand new album, “Fruitbats & Crows”, while Lior will be introducing songs from his gold certified, ARIA (Australian Recording Industry Association) Music Awards nominated albums to music lovers in Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Durban.

In the past three years, Purkiss has toured Australia three times (including a performance at Big Day Out), Europe, USA and of course, South Africa. He’s had radio success in all of the above territories including Japan and had a #1 radio hit in France with “La-Di-Da”. His songs have been used in campaigns by Nissan (Greece), Audi (UK), MTN (South Africa) as well as had various songs placed in the international film “Adopted” (featuring Pauly Shore) as well as popular ABC television series , Private Practice.

In 2007 he was voted by the public as the 19th most popular celebrity and the most popular musician in the Heat Magazine Hot 100 (South Africa) and has been featured by every major newspaper, magazine, TV show and radio station in South Africa as well as been an ambassador for Woolworths. He toured with international greats such as Missy Higgins, Bob Evans, Donovan Frankenreiter, Ben Lee, Luke Doucet and Melissa McClelland and performed on stages alongside artists such as Muse, Tool and Jack Johnson

Lior's sound is a rootsy mix of styles that always harks back to the lyric and melody. With a Middle Eastern heritage, Lior also keeps the music of his bloodline close to the surface. It is Lior's voice that has drawn most attention, capable of both power and tenderness, always delivered with soul in its truest sense.

In 2005 Lior was nominated for “Best Breakthrough Artist”, “Best Male Artist” and “Best Independent Release” at the ARIA Awards. “Autumn Flow” was nominated for Australian Album Of The Year by Australia’s most influential radio station, Triple J. In 2006 his live album was nominated for “Best Independent Release” and “Best Blues and Roots Album” at the ARIAs. In 2008 he was once again given the nod by the ARIAs for “Best Independent Release” once again. Lior has extensively toured Australia and abroad including European tour. This will be his first visit to South Africa.

Catch this highly talented pair at the following venues:

Wednesday, December 2, The Mercury, Cape Town with Laurie Levine

Thursday, December 3 , Obz Cafe, Cape Town

Saturday, December 5 , Back 2 Basix, Johannesburg with Stealing Love Jones

Sunday, December 6 , Pretoria (TBC)

Wednesday, December 9 , Tings and Times, Pretoria

Sunday, December 13 , The Hilton Hotel, Durban with Stealing Love Jones

Albert Frost is in a tie 1st / 2nd place so far - with 700 votes... this means that he could win R100 000 and with your vote, might be in the running for R200 000!!!

Please register as a fan on http://www.doritosbeheard.co.za/entertowin/

then vote for Albert on http://www.doritosbeheard.co.za/gallery/video/97/  (You have to watch the video to the end and then a voting screen will appear where you can vote!!)

Spread the word and let everyone know that their vote will count to put him in the running for R200 000 to kick off his solo career with a bang - he surely deserves it!!

You can watch his latest music video on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wiVE_oJaa6w

Thanks again to those of you who had already voted - please remember that you need only register once - but you have to vote every day!!

Southern Pulse is proud to announce that Tidal Waves will be kicking off their Manifesto Album Launch Tour on the 25th November 2009 with artists like Captain Stu, Voodoo Child, 7th Son, The Little Kings, Napalma and many more, to ensure that the crowd is skanking in unison this summer.

Tidal Waves, being one of the most respected bands in our country, write and perform original reggae music with traditional African music influences. The sound of the music remains original reggae with strong rock, ska and blues influences throughout all their albums, with their message conveyed in more than 3 languages, including Afrikaans, Tshivhenda and Setswana.

“The most striking thing about the new Tidal Waves album, Manifesto, is the sheer range of musical styles they manage to incorporate into their reggae groove. From kwela to boeremusiek to old 1950s style Jamaican ska via Sophiatown swing, mbaqanga, goema and rock - all fleshing out a reggae backbone.” - Andy Davis, Mahala Magazine.

(Read the full album review here: http://www.mahala.co.za/music/geen-babylon-gedagte-hier/)

Manifesto and Muzik an de Method will be on sale at all shows for only R100.00.

The Manifesto National launch tour will start in Pretoria and follow through to the coast of South Africa

For more information regarding the tour, please contact Jessica Schnehage: jessica@southernpulse.co.za

For all media enquiries, please contact Marcelle Lee: marcelle@southernpulse.co.za

For more information, visit: www.tidalwaves.co.za or www.myspace.com/tidalwavestunes

The Namibian singer/song-writer's new album “Ever had that Feeling” picks up where her debut album “Secrets and Skeletons… Notes from a Desert Café” left off. The album crosses all boundaries with alternative folk-styled tracks like “Horse at the Water”, the heart wrenching “I’m not ready” and the passionate “Broken Spanish” amongst others, illustrating the depth and range of ANDRA’s talent as a songwriter.

Her ever growing number of fans realizes that ANDRA’s music is constantly evolving, reflecting new dimensions and exciting sounds without losing her “voice of the desert” quality. In this spirit, the new album will attract both folk and alternative music lovers, not to mention most genres in between.

The album will be available at Look & Listen stores nationwide the following day with a European release-date scheduled for March 2010.

The launch is set to be an exciting evening involving a great cast of accompanying musicians. Artists to the likes of Nibs v/d Spuy, the Lonesome Dave Ferguson, Andre Kriel (of The Black Cat Bones) and Brenda Burnit to name but a few, are set to join ANDRA on stage.

The “Ever had that Feeling” album launch is proudly presented by Levi's, Oppikoppi Productions and Emporio Armani . For more information on ANDRA, contact Sam Alberts of Panda Productions & Artist Management on management@andra.co.za or visit: www.andra.co.za

Join us as we gather to celebrate the End Conscription Campaign (ECC) launched 25 years ago. We are celebrating the diversity and richness of the campaign and its cultural milieu, recalling its values and achievements.

The anniversary celebration is open to all. The focus will be a weekend at Spier wine estate, near Cape Town and you are invited to join in the seminars and debates, view the photographic, art, videos and poster exhibitions, enjoy music at the Saturday concert, view the films and reflect at the thanksgiving service. The weekend will provide many different ways to reflect on the intentions and successes of the ECC. It will ask what the meaning of these values is in South Africa and the world today.

In addition there will be regional programmes. The Cape Town/Spier programme and the other regional programmes, in Johannesburg, KwaZulu Natal and Port Elizabeth are available on www.ecc25.org/ecc25/

One F Music announces the release of Andries Bezuidenhout’s second solo-CD, Bleek Berus (roughly translated: ‘Bleak Resignation.’) Andries is a leading Afrikaans singer-songwriter.

Bleek Berus contains ten brand new songs, most of which were recorded by former Brixton Moord & Roof Orkes (‘Brixton Murder and Robbery Band’) member Drikus Barnard from 2007 to 2009. Also on the album is “Die laaste brandwag,” (‘The Last Sentinel’), which was recorded by Paul Riekert in 2004 for KykNet’s programme “Die liedjies wat ons ken.”

Thematically most of the songs draw on the theme of deserts and other dry places, be it the Namib, or the Highveld as a human desert. “Vernichtungsbefehl,” the last track, with its references to the Herero genocide in Namibia in 1904, is also available as a poem in Andries’s book of poetry Retoer. As in his previous work, themes such as identity and emigration are explored, but in new ways.

Musically speaking Bleek Berus is recorded in the style of contemporary Americana and alt-country, but with a strong local flavour – acoustic outlines filled out with subtle electronics.

The album follows insomniak se Droomalmanak (‘Insomniac’s dream diary’) (2003), as well as Spergebied (‘Restricted Zone’) (2002) and Terug in Skubbe (‘Back in Scales’) (2005), which he recorded with the now disbanded Brixton Moord en Roof Orkes. His debut book of poetry Retoer was published by Protea Boekhuis in 2007.

Rocking the Daisies 2009 took place on Cloof Wine Estate in Darling this past weekend (9 – 11 October).

By Saturday evening more than 10,000 green revelers were rocking to some of the best South African acts including Just Jinger, Prime Circle, Freshlyground and the eclectic performance of the 16 piece band, Gazelle.

Living up to its reputation as South Africa’s premier eco-friendly music and lifestyle festival, Rocking the Daisies showcased SA’s freshest homegrown musical talent , the hottest DJs on the Red Bull Studio Live electro stage, comedy acts from Comedia, art installations, innovative traders, gourmet food, earth saving greening initiatives and first class facilities (including supervised child care).

Together with sponsors, Windhoek Draught, Hemporium, Red Bull, Marshall Music, Levi’s®, MK, VUZU and Speakerbox.co.za, Complete Events raised the bar to bring festival goers a weekend to remember.

Says Brian Little, Festival Director and partner of Complete Events: “Rocking the Daisies 2009 was a resounding success. It has definitely been our ‘coming of age’ year. We have managed to eradicate any logistical issues we encountered last year by learning from our mistakes. Our green credentials speak for themselves and we are extremely proud of everyone involved in what has become one of the biggest and most popular music events in South Africa in four short years.

“We would like to thank all our sponsors, Cloof Wine Estate, our greening partners and festival-goers for making Rocking the Daisies a reality. The amazing feedback this year has been overwhelming and makes all the hard work from the past year worthwhile.

With further support from everyone, Rocking the Daisies is sure to become an event all South Africans can be proud of. We look forward to an even bigger and better Rocking the Daisies in 2010".

Image © Shanna Jones

The KykNET Irene Summer Series is a new series of live music events taking place every Saturday at the Irene Village market. The series hosts accomplished artists in an enchanting and picturesque setting.

The Irene Village Market is renowned for the wholesome atmosphere and its eclectic array of over 300 art and craft stalls that it brings to market goers every month. The market is situated in between the Hennops River and Smuts Hill with grasslands and trees creating a relaxed and restorative atmosphere.

On 17 October Valiant Swart will be performing with his trademark acoustic guitar and harmonica. He’s one of the pioneers of the South African rock scene and has release 13 albums covering an enormous variety of musical styles. With over 3000 performances locally and abroad under his belt, this is a fine tuned showman not to be missed.

Opening the day will be Johannesburg band Wrestlerish, a four piece that blend rock, country and folk like these genres should have always been one.