Smokie returned to the shores of South Africa for their 12th tour to the Republic.
Stops included the Grand West Arena, Carnival City as well as the SunBet Arena in Pretoria.
Pretoria was packed with about 7000 spectators, who waited over two years to watch the concert, as it was postponed twice by Covid restrictions. The wait was worth it as the band went through their repertoire of greatest hits and cover songs.
It was great to have Smokie on our shores again after so many years. To be rock 'n' roll survivors is an achievement. To be Europe's top live band, forty-three years after its inception is truly fantastic; but to still be enthusiastic, fresh, totally committed and in love with the music is a positive miracle. Smokie has undergone a series of changes over the years without losing the essence of the band, and the youngest group seems to be the strongest ever: Pete Lincoln (lead singer, guitar), Luke Bullard (backing vocals, bass guitar), Mick McConnell (backing vocals, lead guitarist), Martin Bullard (keyboards) and Steve Pinnell (drums and percussion).
It was extremely surprising to see so many teenager's and young child attend the concert. They were out of their seats and dancing for the majority of the time. It was another great event by Lefra Productions and we cant wait to see who they bring next.
[Submitted by Kevin Rademeyer]
Big Concerts International confirmed today that UB40 will be returning to South Africa in 2023. They will be performing in Cape Town on 30 May at Grand Arena, GrandWest, Durban on 1 June at the Durban ICC, and on 3 June at SunBet Arena, Time Square in Pretoria
The Discovery Bank pre-sale for the South Africa dates begin Wednesday 7 December at 9:00 AM local time through to Friday 9 December at 8:59 AM from www.ticketmaster.co.za. Sign up for your Discovery Bank Card today and get tickets to the biggest concerts before everyone else with Discovery Bank.
Tickets go on sale to the general public starting Friday 9 December at 9:00 AM local time from www.ticketmaster.co.za.
UB40 Featuring Ali Campbell will add another chapter to a story that began in the Birmingham suburb of Moseley in 1979 when UB40, taking their name from the form given to individuals claiming unemployment benefit, started putting an indigenous British slant on Jamaican reggae. After reaching number four in the charts with King / Food For Thought, the multi-racial band released their debut album Signing Off in 1980. During their career they have sold in excess of 70 million records and topped the UK singles chart on three occasions – with Red Red Wine in 1983; I Got You Babe (a duet between Ali and Pretenders singer and long-standing UB40 champion Chrissie Hynde) in 1985; and (I Can't Help) Falling In Love With You in 1993. Two of those hits, Red Red Wine and (I Can't Help) Falling In Love With You, also went to number one in the USA. Lead singer Ali Campbell joined Birmingham singer and toaster Pato Banton to top the UK charts again with Baby Come Back in 1994. Paying homage to the songs that inspired them, UB40 also released three volumes of the Labour Of Love series, covering Jamaican standards such as Eric Donaldson's Cherry Oh Baby and Lord Creator's Kingston Town.
Ali is joined by his incredible 9-piece band and will be honouring long time member Astro who sadly passed in 2021. Whilst a handful of songs from the forthcoming album will feature alongside favourites from the Labour Of Love series, Ali is keen to include older numbers such as King (about the legacy of American Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King) and One In Ten (about unemployment in the UK) that are, unfortunately, as timely today as when they were first sung in 1980 and 1981.
'We put King back into the set because it's so bloody appropriate,' says Ali. 'We wrote it 40 years ago, but it's still representative of what’s happening in America. It's depressing that nothing has changed. It's the same with One In Ten in the UK. With the impact the coronavirus had on jobs, we could soon be looking at unemployment figures on a par with the early Eighties.” Those songs will feature in a show we've been honing for the past 12 years.
‘We'll always play the classics, like Red Red Wine and (I Can't Help) Falling In Love With You, but we like to change the beginning and end of the show. We'll play Lean On Me and maybe add three or four new songs. The band members are all fantastic musicians and we've climbed back up to the biggest venues in the past 12 years.'
“UB40 FEATURING ALI CAMPBELL”
South Africa 2023 Dates
30 May 2023 Grand Arena, GrandWest, Cape Town
1 June 2023 Durban ICC, Durban
3 June 2023 Sunbet Arena, Times Square, Pretoria
South Africa PR Contact: Dionne Domyan-Mudie | +27 (0) 833261776 | @
TOUR INFORMATION:
Cape Town
Tuesday 30 May 2023
Grand Arena, GrandWest, Cape Town
Tickets are available from www.ticketmaster.co.za from 9 AM (SAST), Friday 9 December 2022
Durban
Thursday 1 June 2023
Durban ICC, Durban
Tickets are available from www.ticketmaster.co.za from 9 AM (SAST), Friday 9 December 2022
Pretoria
Saturday 3 June 2023
SunBet Arena, Time Square, Pretoria
Tickets are available from www.ticketmaster.co.za from 9 AM (SAST), Friday 9 December 2022
For complete tour and ticket information visit www.bigconcerts.co.za.
[Submitted by Kevin Rademeyer]
South African concert-goers often get left out when artists announce dates for their “world tours”, but that’s not the case for OneRepublic, which used the opportunity to grace our shores this past week, thanks to Big Concerts and Time Square Casino.
The Grammy-nominated band, known for their magical stage presence, flashing visuals, and guitarists who strut their stuff across the stage, performed on 15 November at Cape Town’s Grand Arena and at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria on 18 and 19 November.
OneRepublic consists of singer/songwriter and lead vocalist Ryan Tedder, guitarists Zach Filkins and Drew Brown, bassist and cellist Brent Kutzle, keys player Brian Willett and drummer Eddie Fisher. They are behind foot-tapping hits such as Counting Stars, the buttery feel-good summer anthem, Good Life, and their first 2005 hit, Apologize featuring Timbaland. OneRepublic had humble beginnings in the early 2000s on MySpace, but remains relevant today with 48 million monthly Spotify listeners and features the song I Ain’t Worried on the soundtrack of Top Gun: Maverick (2022).
The November tour was the band’s first since 2016, which the band’s frontman, Ryan Tedder, has credited to mental health struggles in a 2017 Facebook post shortly after the release of the Oh My My LP. This led to Tedder pausing the band’s promotion of this campaign as he “hit a physical, emotional, psychological wall”.
“I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown, not sleeping, on meds, not happy, anxiety on a crippling level and it was triggered from sheer exhaustion,” Tedder wrote. “I looked at a calendar, realised I had been gone 200 days of 2016 and still had three more weeks of being gone from my family, my wife, my kids, my friends. Basically my life.
“At the time we had a tour planned for the US in February, straight into Europe and then the rest of the world. We were gonna be gone again, for ages. The thought of it literally sent me into a sweat and made me feel like I was going to have a heart attack
OneRepublic wowed the crowds with their greatest hits including Stop and Stare, Good Life , Apologize and Run. They also took 12 minutes to sing Halo, Bleeding Love and a host of other songs that were written by lead sing Ryan Tedder.
We can not wait for OneRepublic to return to our shores soon.
[Submitted by Kevin Rademeyer]
Afrikaans is Groot performed in front of 80 000 people over 9 evenings.
Some of the great performances were from Demi Lee Moore, Riana Nel, Elandre, Karlien Van Jaarsveld and a host of South Africa's best singers.
After a two year hiatus due to Covid, crowds were more than ready to return and were not disappointed.
[Submitted by Kevin Rademeyer]
NEW YORK (October 31, 2022) – For the first time since 2008, legendary rock band Counting Crows announced their return to South Africa with two performances on their critically acclaimed "Butter Miracle Tour.” The two special performances are set for Friday, April 14, at the SunBet Arena, Time Square in Pretoria and Sunday, April 16, at the Grand Arena, GrandWest in Cape Town. Counting Crows Butter Miracle Tour follows the release of the band's latest record in 2021, BUTTER MIRACLE, SUITE ONE, and the successful U.S, U.K., and European tour of the same name in 2022.
First performing in South Africa in 1999 to sold-out crowds across the country, Counting Crows returned to over 37,000 fans in 2004 before their last appearance in June 2008 following the release of their fifth studio album, Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings. The band's 2023 return marks the fourth time frontman Adam Duritz, and the Counting Crows have performed in Cape Town.
Artist presale and Discovery Bank pre-sale for the South Africa dates begin Wednesday, November 2, at 9:00 AM local time through Friday 8:59 AM, November 4 from www.ticketmaster.co.za. Sign up for your Discovery Bank Card today and get tickets to the biggest concerts before everyone else with Discovery Bank.
Tickets go on sale to the general public starting Friday, November 4 at 9:00 AM local time from www.ticketmaster.co.za.
[Submitted by Kevin Rademeyer]
They came they rocked and they conquered. The legendary Foreigner showed on Sunday night at the Sun Bet Arena in the Jacaranda City just why they are regarded as one of the best live rock bands on the planet. Drawing on their platinum studded albums from the 70`s and `80s they delivered hit after hit with flawless precision and devastating power. Led by singer Kelly Hansen, who must rank as one of rock`s premier frontmen, the band blasted off with a blistering and breathless “ Double Vision” and the energy never let up leaving the sold out audience on their feet . The fans sang along with every classic song including “ Waiting for a girl like you” , “Feels like the first time”, “Head Games” , “Cold as ice” and a pair of timeless gems in “Urgent” and “Juke box Hero that had them dancing in the aisle. The cherry on the top was a moving and evocative “ I want to know what love is” which featured a cameo performance by the St John`s College Choir accompanied by an entire audience in full throated voice !
Cape Town is set to experience the Foreigner magic at Grand West on Tuesday 11th October. Another Big Concerts Experience.
[Submitted by Kevin Rademeyer]
Local artist Justin Clancy is starting his first headlining tour in his home state of Massachusetts, with doors opening at the Brighton Music Hall at 8:00 p.m. on Friday, August 19 2022. Lineup up scheduled to perform opening acts are SeeFour, nic violets, and Bitter Bones. Tickets will be available until depletion or start of show.
[Submitted by Anabeast]
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https://www.justinclancy.com/tour
With a knack for gritty lyrics and raw real-life stories Streetzalina’s first album, ‘#FukCancer’ delivers in every avenue he is known for. Over crisp production, Streetzalina turns his life into a movie on every track. ‘Snakes & Rats’ boasts an up-tempo beat with booming 808’s, rapid-fire hi-hats, sharp snares, and a nonstop flow. His innovation is felt throughout the entire project ‘Black Family Crack Style Pt.1’ has a beat that borderlines on zany with an off-kilter piano loop and an equally unique flow that perfectly accompanies the beat.
Streetzalina’s idiosyncrasies are on full display as he consistently flips flows and patterns that are well beyond any of his peers. He easily stretches and experiments with his delivery, making every track a unique experience. Along with surviving the streets he recently KO’d cancer and this album is a testament to his resilience. ‘From The Mud Crack Style’ continues his flow over another haunting beat with earthshaking bass and hard-hitting percussion. His mission statement is found on the hook of ‘HUSTLE NIGGA’ a mantra that doubles as a chorus. Every track on ‘#FukCancer’ fully displays Streetzalina’s talent and God-given gift for life, music and hustle.
[Submitted by Sandra Richardson]
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https://www.streetzalina.com/music
https://www.streetzalina.com/music
Where you aware of the fact that you can lose a close loved one, such as a child or sibling, due to someone murdering them and you end up responsible for that murderers’ actions, no? well did you know that there is a fee, to clean up the crime scene of your loved ones and that you will be the person to foot the bill?
The “crime scene clean up fee”, is pay that is received by the cleaning crews who, have to come and remove your dead one’s body, from the place the body was found.
Rightfully so, this fee is charged due to the hazards the cleaning crew faces, by coming into contact with decomposing bodies, various bodily fluids such as blood, and also any debris that was left over from the murder.
Sadly, this fee is often applied to the relatives of the deceased or the business in which the murder occurred depending on the nature of the crime.
However, should not this cleaning fee be charged towards the murderers themselves, or the state waives the fee or pays the fee for every unsolved case without a killer caught?
Would this not encourage local police departments, to solve more murders in a more timely and aggressive manner, as to ensure state costs are down, and criminal justice up?
Why would anyone expect the family of the deceased, to be the ones who pay for their loved one’s murder clean up? Why ask the people who are grieving to pay a cleaning fee, instead of simply charging the killers?
These very questions were asked by the mother of slain Baltimore producer Devontae Eden and to no avail she has not gotten any answer as of yet.
Devontae Eden was murdered on November 17,2020, when he was fatally shot, while he worked at his studio in the early morning hours, Mr. Eden died on the scene causing a surprise charge to immediately be issued.
Devontae was a gifted producer, known fondly as “DDAE Kollage” in the music industry. He has worked with artist such as Future and scored work on shows such as Love and Hip Hop.
Devontae’s studio was located in historic Reisterstown Maryland, a usually quiet part of Baltimore county and his death had many residents and business owners feeling very uneasy and unsafe. However, no one felt more unsafe or uneased than Devontae’s own mother herself.
The studio Devontae was murdered in was a shared space, one that Devontae shared with his mother, one that she no longer wished to occupy anymore once she found her son dead inside there on that fateful November morning. This however caused more problems as the mother of the victim fell under both categories of the crime scene fee law & tenant breech law.
Mrs. Eden soon learned that not only was she being hit with a crime clean up fee of $9k, but also that her landlord denied her contract breakage and she now owes for the rent of a year at around $18k.
Mrs. Eden will never be able to have the comfort of seeing her child again, and she now has a fear of returning to work due to her son’s murder/s still being unknown and on the loose.
Between the clean up fee and the rental charge, Mrs. Eden has had to resort to asking for help on her GoFundMe fundraiser page.
“Any little bit helps towards the goal, even if it’s only to share the link it all helps in the end” she reiterated when asked how the public could get involved and be of assistance.
Mrs. Eden also ask that anyone who has any information on the murder of her son Devontae Eden, to please come forward or call 410-307-2020
[Submitted by Taneshia Franklin]
Kim So Ra performing at the 58th Annual Philadelphia Folk Festival
Kim So Ra is the first Korean ever to perform at the Folk Fest. The crowd really appreciated the performance today and will have an opportunity to see another amazing set tomorrow at Noon in the Culture Tent at the Folk Fest #PFF58
