Jazz artist Jimmy Dludlu was silenced at Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden on Sunday night when concert officials shut off the sound while he was still playing.
Dludlu’s gritty jazz rhythms were replaced by frustrated sighs from the audience.
“We have a strict 7pm curfew for the concert series,” Kirstenbosch event manager Sarah Struys said.
“Despite having been prompted and informed about the cut-off, Dludlu wanted to play on.”
Some fans felt blindsided, as Dludlu only played two minutes beyond 7pm.
“The audience was upset. The cut-off sounded abrupt. What was nice, though, was that Jimmy came down into the crowd afterwards and took pictures with the audience,” Cape Times photographer and jazz fan Jeffrey Abrahams said.
Dludlu’s manager Shado Twala said: “We knew we needed to finish, but when the crowd wants more, Jimmy gets going. He was just having a good time, not looking at the clock.”
Twala said the sound engineer communicated the time constraint to Dludlu, but he did not hear the message.
Struys said: “We are one of the few open-air concert venues in Cape Town that hasn’t been closed by residents’ associations. If we dishonour our 7pm agreement, the whole operation could be shut down.”
The Bishopscourt and Fernwood residents’ associations were involved in drafting the curfew rules.
Robert Levitt, chairman of the Bischopscourt Residents’ Association, said: “The emotive and misleading term ‘curfew’, which is being used to denote the time at which concerts generally end, is unfortunate. The fact that both performers and the audience at any entertainment venue know the commencement and ending times and accept them hardly requires explanation. What is, of course, required is that performers abide by the terms of their arrangements with the organisers and the venue.”
He said that Kirstenbosch concerts could be heard throughout Bishopscourt.
Struys said a few years ago when a concert went on until 7.05pm, event organisers received complaints from the residents’ association.
Dludlu melds Latin and African sounds with traditional jazz. - Cape Times