(Charlie Love. Pic by Dianne Bruce Dunklau)
Twelve
years on and still going strong, The Durban International Blues Festival will
again take place at The Plant, Station Drive Precinct, Durban following its
successful change of venue and capacity turn out last year. Tickets for this
two day event, September 1 and 2 will go on sale at Computicket shortly.
Born in
the 1860’s in the Mississippi Delta, the blues transverses a spectrum of
emotions and musical styles and whilst it can express “feelin’ blue”, it can
also be a base to raucous dance music and a celebration of success and
pleasure.
“When
the Festival was staged for the first time in 2005 at Wilson’s Wharf, the
intention was to create an event, synonymous with Durban alone and to make
Durban the, Blues Capital of South Africa - hopefully the Continent of Africa
eventually,” says Festival Director Themi Venturas.
“The
intention was and still is, to educate music lovers and to encourage their
support of this easy listening style and we think that we have achieved this
with a steady growth of fans and growing attendance every year,” Venturas
concludes.
No
single person created the blues as this genre was created and shaped by a
number of musicians over time and perhaps this explains why jazz and blues
interact with each other in different ways and where tempo is laid back and the
melody and themes are often repeated.
The 2017
Programme is shorter than in the past as co-coordinators strive to find the
perfect blend of quality and quantity which will also suit the festival goer’s
pocket.
Blues is
not like a regular musical performance and much like its cousin Jazz- is best
suited to smaller, casual and more intimate venues where the audience can
interact quite personally with the performers on stage. For this reason, The
Plant remains a good choice and looks to be the home for this event for quite
some time into the future.
With
secure parking around the precinct, food vendors such as Renegade Kitchen and
The Roast Co amongst others on site as well as the opportunity to book for dinner
before the event at one of the precinct restaurants, a cash bar facility for
beers and soft drinks and a few select other drinks, the evening is suitable
for the family too.
This
year’s line-up includes firm favourites as well as international guest artists,
Charlie Love and Dan Patlansky and his band. The programme will feature:
September
1 at 19h30 – Tickets R150: The Smoke and Liquid Band (Johannesburg); Black Cat
Bones (Johannesburg) and Charlie Love (USA). Callie Housdon Thompson on keys,
Andy Turrell on drums and Llewellyn Chetty on bass will back Charlie Love.
September
2 at 19h00 – Tickets R150: Cinnamon Blue
(Durban); Rusty Red Trio (Durban); Gerald Clarke (Cape Town) and Dan Patlansky
(SA/International)
On
September 2 from 14h00 to 17h00, Glenwood Village Music will again host the
ever popular and well attended Fender
Concert which sees a picking of Durban’s finest blues musicians and which
is always an exciting program. Attendance is free
Don’t
want to drink and drive- the Uber Shuttle service is available to and from the
venue- Book your ride
Merchandise
table on site will carry select tee shirts and artists CD’s. There will be a
cash bar with a selection of SAB beers and ciders , and other choices and food
vendors on site R100 buys you a raffle
ticket for a R15 K Lewitt Custom
Designed and built bass guitar
For more
information and updates – go to www.durbanbluesfestival.co.za or
contact the publicist on 082 747 9738 during office hours only
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