Theresa Smith
KIRSTENBOSCH Summer Sunset Concerts again play host to the Cape Town Folk and Acoustic Festival, which is growing exponentially.
Sunday’s concert will be the second time they have used the Botanical Garden and already pre-sales are looking good, according to festival organiser Gavin Minter.
“I suppose it is the setting; it is just very conducive to this style of music. For me, I find the harder hitting shows are out of place. I suppose I’m giving away my age,” said Minter.
“I think people see it is friendly and not boring with a great variety of artists. We get a mixture of people.”
On the bill this time are several guitarists plus singer/songwriters and Minter has paired some of them off to make for potentially explosive combinations.
Laurie Levine and Josie Field have been gigging together for a while, and putting Albert Frost and Arno Carstens together on stage again will be a nostalgic moment for many fans.
“Gerald Clark is actually playing with Luna Paige and Guy Collins, which is a great trio. Country-soul, that’s what I like to call it. Gerald’s got this huge soul voice and you’ve got Luna who is country and Guy has a bit of blue grass and it all comes together as a little trio.
“Inge Beckman and Joshua Grierson: I’ve left it up to them and wanted a twist. It’s not Inge’s style, but I know she’s got a huge voice and Joshua’s got an interesting angle to whatever he does.
“The first time I ever saw Beatenberg perform they were doing an acoustic set.”
He’s also paired Jeremy Olivier with Mark Fransman and Manouche, Natasha Meister, Michael Lowman and Tony Cox round out the line-up.
Like many of the artists, Cox has a new album out so don’t be too surprised if he plays tracks from Padkos, or if you see the artists hovering over the merchandise table after the concert.
“All those albums will be available and I think there’ll be signings and merchandise. I’ve also printed the first Folk Acoustic Festival t-shirt and a dvd from last year’s Kirstenbosch performance,” said Minter.
l The Cape Town Folk and Acoustic Festival starts at 5pm and ends at 7pm. Tickets: R90 adults, R65 youth, and children under 6 get in free. Botanical Society members pay R80. Book online at www.webtickets.co.za or call 021 761 2866.