KwaZulu-Natal’s idyllic South Coast boasts a stellar line-up of acoustic music impressarios for a day of top-drawer tunes this weekend.
The Melville Village Folk ‘n Acoustic Music Picnic gathers the greats of the past 50 years with the occasion marking 50 years to the day when South African underground music icon David Marks joined the Boys Band in Witbank. On the bill is fabled folk musician Roger Lucey, who is joined by ace percussionist Dan Chiorboli, Peter Farnham, the Hinds Brothers, Screaming Doc Hansen and Niedia, Goldie and Silver, Tiffany, Ginger Seipp, Enoch Cele, David Marks, Clive Gardiner, Dave Andrews, Sean Ross and many more. A special appearance will be made by South African bagpipe virtuoso Charles Carr, who performs his renowned A to Z — Afrikaans to Zulu melodies.
Also on offer is a tea garden, a beer garden, food stalls and local arts and crafts.
69 Beach Road, Melville Beach, Saturday, November 26, 10am to 5pm. Entrance R50. Tel: 084 587 6134/082 340 3492/083 359 5610.
? With a talent as prodigious as his output is prolific, Nibs van der Spuy is one of South Africa’s most nationally and internationally acclaimed musicians.
During a formidable career spanning eight solo albums, the guitarist and songwriter has carved a singular swath in world music with his inspired fusion of folk, bluegrass, maskanda, Celtic, classical, rock, jazz and country.
Van der Spuy recently released his new album, Morning Star, an all-acoustic affair, which follows in the hallowed footsteps of folk masterpieces such as early Dylan, Nick Drake’s Pink Moon and Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska. It was recorded in a no-frills fashion in a single day. This has resulted in an album of raw immediacy that is simultaneously epic, intimate and utterly South African with its evocative imagery of ghost trains travelling through desolate landscapes, dry river beds with broken windmills, bitter wine, abandoned Cape- Dutch houses and lost love. This performance forms part of Van der Spuy’s national tour in support of the album’s release.
Alliance Française, 22 Sutton Crescent, Wednesday, November 30, 7.30pm. Entrance R60. Tel: 031 312 9582. Email: [email protected].
? A rare solo Durban performance by musical activist and struggle stalwart Roger Lucey takes place this weekend.
The career of this extraordinary musician, journalist, filmmaker, actor and academic was effectively destroyed by the apartheid police’s Special Branch when the lyrics to his protest songs on his landmark 1979 album, The Road Is Much Longer, endowed Lucey with “enemy of the state” status. His films include Guardians of the Bow, which covers the unique collaboration and tour of four musicians from Brazil, Angola and Portugal, The Accidental Busker, the story of a musical journey through Italy, and Dead Tide, a documentary about the fishing industry in Mozambique.
On this occasion, Lucey performs songs from his albums The Road Is Much Longer, Half-A-Live, Running for Cover, 21 Years Down the Road and Gypsy Soul.
Spiga d’Oro, Florida Road, Saturday, November 26, 7.30pm. Entrance is R50, with advance booking recommended. Tel: 031 303 9511. Email: [email protected].