(Prime Circle)
Two South African
musical super-groups are lined up to entertain crowds at the Richards Bay Port
Festival which takes place on September 26 and 27, hosted by Transnet National
Ports Authority, in partnership with the Uthungulu District Municipality.
Rock sensation,
Prime Circle, will perform on September 26 while pop act, Beatenberg, takes
centre stage on the Sunday. The bands’ performances are part of an exciting
festival line-up that features waterside activities including the Exercise
Oxide collaboration between the SA Navy and French Navy, sail-pasts, yacht
races, tug rides and more, as well as landside activities including live
entertainment, a kiddies’ park, craft stands, and a careers and business
exhibition, among others. TNPA is adding the final touches to an exciting
programme with local and regional artists and DJs set to be unveiled on a
weekly basis.
“A festival like
this intends to expose port communities to the port and the opportunities that
exist through the maritime sector, but in an interactive and entertaining
manner,” said Preston Khomo, Richards Bay Port Manager.
Over a decade after they first stormed out of the gates with their
record-breaking debut album in 2003, Prime Circle have kept their brand of
rasping, layered, melodic rock on mainstream airwaves, with a string of massive
studio albums that have secured their place as the most successful rock act in
South African history. The band is made up of lead singer and guitarist, Ross
Learmonth, bass player Marco
Gomes, Dale Schnettler on drums, Neil
Breytenbach on keyboard and Dirk Bisschoff on guitar.
Their 2003 debut, Hello Crazy
World, rocketed to gold status in South Africa, with Live This Life, the 2005 follow-up, following suit. She Always Gets What She Wants, the
first single from their 2008 album All or
Nothing, has received over 789,000 YouTube hits. It is the most-viewed
South African rock song of all time on the channel, and cements Prime Circle’s
status as the most successful South African rock band in history.
Beatenberg is a fresh new face in pop music, made up of lead singer and
guitarist, Matthew Field, bass player Ross Dorkin and drummer Robin Brink. The band
from Cape Town has entrenched its position as a leading pop group, despite
studying music at the University of Cape Town and being schooled in 'serious
music' like Beethoven, Debussy and John Coltrane. Their 2014 album, “The Hanging Gardens of Beatenberg”, saw
their collaboration
with DJ Clock on 'Pluto (Remember You)'
become the number one most popular song on South African radio for over 19
consecutive weeks in 2014.
Richards Bay is bracing itself for a bumper week that kicks off with
World Maritime Day on September 23, followed by the biannual Exercise Oxide
military collaboration between the French and South African military and
navies, and culminating in the two-day Port Festival. There will be
appearances and displays by some of the South African Navy’s most impressive
vessels, with all naval ships open to the public over the port festival weekend
The Richards Bay Port Festival will take
place in and around Naval Island, Tuzi Gazi Waterfront and the indoor cricket
facility at the Port of Richards Bay. It will be open from 10h00 to 20h00 on
September 26 and from 10h00 to 17h00 on September 27. Entry R20 per day (children
under 10 free). Tickets will be available at the gate.
More information
from Nkululeko Molefe, Corporate Affairs Officer, Port of Richards Bay on
email: nkululeko.molefe@transnet.net
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