Kirstenbosch Summer Concerts

It is that time again Cape Town — The Kirstenbosch Summer Concerts are right on our door­step so it is time to phone your friends, dust off that pic­nic blanket and take the bas­ket off the top shelf and make sure you have tick­ets for the Sunday concerts ...

The Old Mutual Summer Sunset Concerts have been tak­ing place for as long as I can remem­ber, they are such a high­light on the Cape Town cal­en­dar and it is a fant­astic oppor­tun­ity to wind down the week­end, sit­ting on the beau­ti­ful grassy banks in front of the stage at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, while listen­ing to some of the best South African musi­cians and bands we have to offer.

Photo Credit: Kirstenbosch Summer Concert — Image Source — by Coda on Flickr.com

The artists for this year’s line up have recently been released and oh boy are we in for some treats! The con­certs run every Sunday (start­ing on 22 November 2009) and run all the way until 4  April 2010. The gates open at 15h30 and it is advis­able to get there early because these con­certs are gen­er­ally per­formed in front of sold out crowds and if you want to get a good spot you need to arrive early. The con­certs start at 17h30.

If you’re won­der­ing what the tick­ets will set you back by, you will be pleas­antly sur­prised, you will not be pay­ing an arm and a leg to see some of your favour­ite South African per­formers because the tick­ets range from R65 to R95 for adults (you get a dis­count if you are a Botanical Society Member). These prices make the con­certs eas­ily access­ible for most bank bal­ances, so it doesn’t mat­ter if you are a stu­dent on a budget or a high fly­ing exec­ut­ive these prices should suit your budget.

This year’s line up kicks off with Johnny Clegg who is an abso­lute legend in South Africa. He is often referred to as the white Zulu and has a strong fol­low­ing in France where he is fondly referred to as Lu Zulu Blanc. Johnny's music blends tra­di­tional Zulu rhythms with pop music. Some of his most well known tracks are Impi, Great Heart and Cruel, Crazy, Beautiful World.

These con­certs really do have some­thing for everyone’s taste, you will find moms, dads and chil­dren all spend­ing time together and enjoy­ing the unique vibe that these con­certs pro­duce. Some of the other artists per­form­ing in 2009 are Claire Philips and Neo Muyanga, Jesse Clegg, the Johnny Cooper Orchestra, Astray Electric and Pretty Blue Guns.

To get into the Christmas spirit make sure you get to one of the Carols by Candlelight con­certs, which take place over 4 even­ings (not only a Sunday). They start on Thursday 17 December until Sunday 20 December 2009. Here you will hear and can sing along to some of your favour­ite Christmas carols.

Are you a bit unsure on how to cel­eb­rate the start of the New Year? Then why not book a ticket to the New Years Eve con­cert. Tickets are a bit more for this event and will cost you R220 a per­son. You will be treated to music from Flat Stanley, Loyiso, Loading Zone and Chad Saaiman. This is a great way to spend your time while see­ing in the New Year. Bring your friends and fam­ily and find a com­fort­able spot on the grass.

The new year brings with it a host of fant­astic South African bands and artists such as Josie Field, Farryl Purkiss and Dan Patlansky. Freshlyground, who’s Doo Be Doo was one of the great Summer Anthems in 2005 with extremely catchy lyr­ics will also be per­form­ing in the 2010 line up. South African sen­sa­tion Zebra & Giraffe led by singer and song­writer, Greg Carlin are set to rock the gar­dens on 17 January 2010 and the gar­dens will con­tinue to rock the fol­low­ing week when Fokofpolisiekar take to the stage.

Taking us into the second month of 2010 will be Lira and friends, HHP and RJ Benjamin with Feburary and March offer­ing a steam­ing hot line up of South Africa’s most pop­u­lar bands. aKING kicks things off on 7 February, fol­lowed by Jamali and friends, Jody, Sasha-Lee and Soulstone. Just Jinger treats Cape Town to their soul­ful sounds on 21 February and one of my favour­ite South African bands, Prime Circle, will enter­tain us on 28 February.

Goldfish who has inter­na­tional acclaim, as they spend part of the year spin­ning the decks to the party goers in Ibiza, Spain, will once again bring Kirstenbosch to their feet on 7 March — get your tick­ets early, because these will fly out quickly. The Dirty Skirts fol­low the next week and the Cape Philharmonic Orchestra starts to wind things down on 21 March. Well know band, Watershed, per­forms the pen­ul­tim­ate per­form­ance and the con­certs are bid farewell on 4 April with the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon Encounter with Gang of Instrumentals, Tidal Waves and Tumi Molekane.

If you want to book your tick­ets early you are able to do so at www.webtickets.co.za or for more inform­a­tion to you tele­phone the Kirstenbosch inform­a­tion desk on +27 (0)21 799‑8783.

Useful Links:
Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens
Cape Town Events
Things to Do in Cape Town
Cape Town Accommodation