So after Oppi’s little international act announcement - which was kinda terrible – I felt it was about time to lay down what I think will set us here in South Africa on the right path to having a better music-orientated festival. Let’s not lie: most people go to Oppi to get shit-faced, while the music is a happy secondary concern. This is very much my own opinion and I totally understand the countless difficulties of organizing this. The sheer logistics behind an event like this are far beyond my scope. I mean, how do you support 10,000+ people’s bowel movements? That being said, the simplest thing is getting artists to perform, right? You call their booking agent, wager a deal and fly them down. Yeah? That’s really not all that difficult, right? So why, Oppi, do you keep getting it wrong? Does everyone relevant shoot them down? Or is it another problem that’s staring all of us right in the face?
I have some thoughts on how it all goes horribly wrong all the time for us and my own pipe-dream solution to the problem. Just my two cents, cos I’m pretty sure no one is going to give me 4-mill-plus to organize a festival!
First off, I wanna point out the huge problem that festival organizers face: us
You and me. We are not helpful consumers at all. We’re all hating on “Mullet for my Valentine” and most of us for good reasons. Mainly: it’s not 2002 anymore! Heck, have you seen these guys before?! I hadn’t so I googled them and this is what came up. Are you fucking kidding me?! Did I get stuck in The Matrix where alt bros are still cool?! Seriously, guys. But wait, wait, wait I didn’t start this to bash this band. Actually, by ranting like this, I just proved how hard it is to actually find acts to perform in this country.
I mean, yes, a good few hundred of us hate Mullet, but about another hundred are so very excited they can’t actually believe their luck. And you know what? YAY! Congrats! I got to see Two Door Cinema Club this year. But we are just a few hundred in a country of thousands who never get to see the acts they truly love. Here’s the main “problem”. We are all too different and have different tastes. Worse than that, we are all of the opinion that our choice in music is the best.
You don't like Ben Howard? Go fuck yourself.
So by booking any international, you’re always taking a big risk. That’s unless you book some huge band from the past or someone who drops gold albums in America every second week. But even then we bitch and moan and say fuck why would I wanna see U2 or Kings of Leon!? Yep, we are festivals’ biggest hurdles. We are fickle and pretentious. All of us. And this attitude is carried across to the international promoters and artists. Trust us, guys, the internet has made the world a small place and so when all the international acts come here and have a shit time, all the other acts know about it.
This is something we all need to look at within ourselves and try to change. Yes, I don’t like what they play on 5fm. That does not necessarily make it bad. It’s just not my taste. I see music like religion. Don’t force it on someone because then they’ll just push it away. But if they hear something new, they might decide that they like it and wanna try it out more. So if we’re going to try and force people to think our music is amazing and come to festivals, we’re totally going about it the wrong way. This is where my theory for a festival comes in. South Africa can have a relevant festival by proving to the rest of world that we are ready to be relevant. Let’s all pretend that we don’t have favorite bands or genres when we go to festivals. Let’s just go. Let’s dubstep the fuck out of life, shoegaze ourselves into oblivion and mosh to the sickness. Let’s make those international artists remember every second that they are on stage. Be they folk, garage, prog house, rnb or pop. Let’s prove to the rest of the world that we are musically diverse and want a large group of artists in one place where we can all revel in the diversity. Like I said, it’s a pipe dream. You and I both know that we aren’t ready for this. But it is something we can aim for and try improve in ourselves, cause if I one day get to see Cut Copy in Jo’burg, I’ll be that happy front row guy that will be there from 9am in the morning. But for now, you know what, Mullet? I’m gonna scream and headbang to every track just so that you go back to America Wales and tell everyone how amazing it was here.
Then pass out in the dust, just like we do every year at Oppi