Music lovers were in for a treat this Saturday, as they witnessed their favourite bands battle for the ultimate prize.
Now in its 3rd year in South Africa, Afropunk Battle Of The Bands competition traditionally selects one band as a winner, but in a shocking turn of events, two competing acts, Muneyi and Shameless were announced as this year's winners.
Following a rigorous process the two winning bands will be joining international and local acts as part of the Afropunk Joburg Festival taking place in December 30 and 31 at Constitution Hill.
Competing at the final Battle Of The Bands competition were Raspy, Muneyi, Shameless and Yanga Yaya. The finalists were selected through a public voting system hosted on Afropunk.com where fans got to vote for their favorite band, putting them a step closer to the finals.
Apart from performing at the Afropunk festival, the two upcoming bands will receive a prestigious distribution deal from Africa’s leading artist development hub, AFRICORI.
Previous winners include the likes of Red Robyn, Ikati Esengxoweni and Stiff Pap who all have been steadily progressing in their music careers since performing at the competition
Part of the judging panel was Afropunk’s co-founder, Matthew Morgan, who had this to say: “Every year, we get to witness amazing talent from young artists who are diverse and not afraid to express themselves freely in whatever form they feel like.
The Battle Of The Bands platform has been a success in South Africa because of the multi cultural landscape which inspires raw and untamed talent which is what we witnessed tonight. Congratulations to all the finalists and we’re really excited to see their rise to stardom.”
Adam Tiran, AFRICORI’s Head Of Operations, described this year’s competition as “an eclectic melting pot of daring talent with the potential to shape the country’s music landscape.”