One of the country’s biggest music festivals, the Cotton Fest, is coming to Cape Town in December. Cotton Fest founder, the late rapper Riky Rick, launched the festival in 2019 to bring together established and upcoming South African talent.
The annual festival was put on hold in 2021, due to Covid-19 restrictions, returning this year. Pre-Covid, the festival saw more than 80 local hip-hop and amapiano artists take the stage.
Cotton Fest head of communications Melanie Ramjee says it was Riky Rick’s vision to expand it to other parts of the country.
“Cotton Fest is bigger than just being a music festival. It is a culture and a movement. After Riky’s passing in February, all the Cotton Fest plans were put on hold for a bit. Later, in March, we regrouped and focused on going ahead with the festival in Joburg. But it can’t just be about Johannesburg, we need to grow Riky’s legacy,” says Ramjee.
The third edition of Cotton Fest Johannesburg took place in mid-April at The Station in Newtown. The two-day festival hosted some of the country’s biggest artists across three stages. Among them were Sjava, Cassper Nyovest, Uncle Waffles, Khuli Chana, Daliwonga and Zakes Bantwini. The faculty of Super Fine Arts did a tribute to the late the Sondela hitmaker, led by Riky Rick’s protégé Uncle Vinny who considered Riky to be a father figure after he took him under his arm at a young age.
Earlier this month, the Cotton Fest team announced that a one-day festival would take place in the Mother City on 10 December at Paarden Eiland Park. Ramjee says Cotton Fest Cape Town will be different from the Johannesburg edition and that they are envisaging that 5 000 “cotton eaters” will attend.
What to expect
The Concert
There will be two music stages — a Cotton stage which will feature headline artists from Cape Town and Joburg and a second one featuring young hip-hop talent, alongside some of the biggest names on the amapiano scene.
The Tuckshop
Bringing together proudly South African brands, the merchandise area will showcase unique pieces from local creatives, limited branded fashion items and other sought-after goods. Cotton Fest merchandise will also be sold.
Sports Area
A Cotton Fest half-court will be set up for basketball fans, along with a skating ramp hosted by Day Marumo and Jagermeister.
Cafeteria
The Food Court will offer a wide variety of options and there will be several fully stocked bars positioned around the venue.
Cotton Fest CPT will take place on 10 December at the Paarden Eiland Park. Tickets on sale at Webtickets and Pick n Pay outlets nationwide, ranging from R200 to R600.