THE Franschhoek Valley’s 2010 Harvest Festival at Solms-Delta Wine Estate on Saturday is the Boland’s hot ticket for a superb line-up of proudly South African talent, sure to make you dance, laugh and even shed a tear or two.
Headlining this year’s 14-act show from 11:00 to 21:00 are Emo Adams and the Radio Kalahari Orkes, two dynamic acts well-known to South African audiences.
Witty and flamboyant Emo Adams, whose best-selling CD “Tall, Dark and Afrikaans” won a Huisgenoot Tempo award, is an entertainer in the fullest sense of the word.
The Radio Kalahari Orkes (RKO) incorporates the unlikely musical talents of actor Ian Roberts and writer Rian Malan in a revival of working class Afrikaans music.
Other well-known artists are Cape jazz king Robbie Jansen, the legendary spoon-wielding slide guitarist Hannes Coetzee, whose unusual “optel en knyp” (pick up and pinch) style produces sounds that seem to come from two guitars. The much-anticipated appearance of Negosiegoed promises to be a ‘best of the best’ of Boeremusiek performances.
The band consists of leaders and artists of top bands from all over the country, like concertina-maestros Willie Nelson of Namakwaland Boere-orkes and Stephaan van Zyl, who leads the Oudag Boere-orkes.
Dancing to the infectious rhythms of age-old polkas, seties, mazurkas and waltzes will be members of the Traditional Boere Dance Club. On the homefront, Les Javan, acknowledged as one of Cape Town’s great composers and artist-in-residence of Solms-Delta’s Music van de Caab, will be on stage with his band Nonspesifiek.
And adding their own toe-tapping brand of Cape vernacular music will be Solms-Delta’s women’s choir, the Delta Soetstemme (a brass, guitar and vocal ensemble), the Delta Langbroek Band, the Delta Bluestars brass and minstrel band, and the evergreen locals, the Papier Family Langarm Band.
This musical extravaganza is also a feast for the stomach, with authentic Cape flavours pervading the lekker food stalls, all manned by Boland cooks with a reputation for their particular speciality.
Mary Malgas, tuck shop proprietress, will also offer dance lessons to the festival’s live tunes.
Gates open at 10:00. Tickets are available through WebTicket (www.webtickets.co.za), at the farm or at Franschhoek Tourism Office at R160 per person, which includes a meal voucher. There will be a cash bar for wine and soft drinks. Entry is free for children under six and half price for children under 12.
