This month, it’s okay to get up the creek without a paddle. Inflatable pool loungers, tents and a great attitude – and that paddle if you’re keen – are most welcome though.
The annual Up The Creek Music Festival, which takes place on the banks of the Breede river in Swellendam, will thrill music lovers from January 31 to February 3. Sponsored by 4th Street, MK, Rolling Stone SA, Bos Iced Tea, Lilo, Red Bull and Mitchell’s Brewery, the four-day festival is filled with music, a little bit of comedy and a whole lot of chilling in the water.
You can expect to see the likes of Yoav, Jeremy Loops, Karen Zoid, ISO, Peachy Keen, Beast, Dave Ferguson, Goodnight Wembley, Machineri, Tailor, Tombstone Pete, Piet Botha and Liz, Peachy Keen, Lucy Kruger, The Mysticcs, No One’s Arc, Black Cat Bones, Nomadic Orchestra, Grassy Spark, Dirty Bounce, December Streets, Woodstock Mafia, Trenton and the Radicals, Saint Fearless, Desmond and The Tutus, Taxi and Friends, Janie and the Beard, Shotgun Tori and more live and in colour.
There will be three live stages: the Rolling Stone stage, the MK River stage and the 4th Street Main Stage (where all the headliners will do their thang), but the kicker is that only one of these stages will be operational at a time. That way, you can enjoy a band without the FOMO – that’s Fear Of Missing Out, in case you aren’t familiar – on another band’s set.
As has become tradition over the years at various festivals, there will be a few comedians at Up The Creek to entertain revellers and give those who need it a teensy-weensy break from the doof-doof. This year, you can expect to see, amongst others, Nik Rabonowitz.
But here’s what’s really piqued the interest of many people. There will, for the first time, be a wedding taking place at Up The Creek. Now, we don’t know if this is code for some or other weird rock-’n’-roll experience, or if it’s an actual throwing-the-bouquet kind of wedding, but the organisers are remaining mum about it.
So, if you’re keen to attend a maybe-wedding, camp out, or stay at the Heartbreak Hotel if camping isn’t your thing, be sure to get your ticket so you can be a Creeker, too.
lThe Up The Creek Music Festival takes place at the Breederiver in Swellendam from January 31 to February 3. Ticket: priced from R450 at www.ticketbreak.co.za