There are few things I love more than going out and experiencing some amazing live music. With two intriguing and vastly different festivals in Joburg on Saturday, I struggled to decide on which I would attend.
In the end, I ended up doing both.
Major League Gardens takes place a couple of times each year and has built a reputation as one of the premier music festivals on the continent, drawing upwards of 15 000 people to their venue at the grounds behind FNB Stadium in Nasrec Soweto.
Capsule Festival on the other hand was holding it’s very first installment of the interactive street festival which not only included music but incorporated branded pop up stores, a beer garden and a full on food village.
Headlining Major league Gardens was the irrepressible African superstar, Davido, while Capsule was headlined by American rapper A$AP Ferg and Nasty C – most widely known for his hit singles Shabba and New Level.
Both had contrasting draw cards and both were poised to be unique spectacles. I decided I’d start at Major League Garden because it was closer to home.
When I arrived shortly after midday.I was met by sweltering heat and was thankful I'd resisted the temptation to wear the cool green jacket I'd recently bought. I was surprised to see that there was already thousands of people streaming into the venue. By 4pm, it was starting to get seriously packed.
The performances I saw weren't particularly impressive, apart from Cassper Nyovest's show-stopping set, and when the VIP section started to resemble a pond overflowing with sardines I decided it was time to check to check out Capsule.
When I arrived at Capsule around 9pm, I found one of the headline acts, Nasty C on stage and the crowd going nuts. He's reinvented his performance over the last few months and the stand-out addition to his set was his impressive on-stage choreography. AKA came through with his typically energetic and well-choreographed set, before A$AP Ferg shut the show down with a lively and flamboyant performance.
What made Capsule special wasn't necessarily the performances but the energy from the capacity crowd at Newtown's Mary Fitzgerald Square. There was a lot of cool street style fashion and the shoe game on display was impeccable. People really came to show-out!
The next day was the Sasko Soweto Kota Festival. The two day festival saw in excess of 3 000 people gather at the Soweto Theatre in Jabulani to enjoy a mix of traditional kasi inspired kotas, to innovative new-school kotas.
This is what Jozi is really about. The exciting nightlife and some delicious kasi inspired food.
