Spring continues to be welcomed in the best possible way, ladies and gentlemen. Following the immense success of I ❤ JOBURG and Homecoming (that girl’s friends aint loyal), 94.7 once again shows why they are the best concert organisers with their Joburg Day festival in association with MTN. The line up included Mafikizolo, Goldfish, AKA, MiCasa, LOCNVILLE, Prime Circle and Matthew Mole amongst other proudly South African acts. So how did this event pan out? Well as I sit here in my heart-decor pyjamas, I recap the day’s events and type them out whilst still having a grin on my face and energy in my body before going to bed and waking up to a fatigue headache(Hangovers are so 2 sequels ago)
We arrived there being welcomed by the sounds of Mafikizolo performing their hits but the queue had other plans and despite the fast pace it was moving, I didn’t have the chance to tell random strangers about KHONA and HAPPINESS. Regardless, we were welcomed into the VIP section and despite being late, were did manage to get a freebie…A smart power bank portable charger (#HELLO). Of course, being a VIP-virgin Obakeng and I took full advantage getting free henna tattoos (Think they’ll let us join a gang in prison?)
We moved to the other VIP section where I almost sh!t myself when I saw Sizwe Dlomo and Anela Mdoda. We enjoyed our first meal of the day (Compliments to the chef, that chicken kebab opened heaven’s gates) and as we sat in VIP and watched the DJ tell the crowd turn down for what before LOCNVILLE took the stage we asked ourselves; WTF are we still doing sitting here?!
My favorite, and let’s be honest BEST, performance of the day was MiCasa because these guys know how to put on a show and Jay Something is so charismatic he could be a serial kille. It was great to see Jay Something shut down skeptics who state that ‘white people’ can’t sing Brenda Fassie songs. His version of FreshlyGround’s ‘doobie-doobie’ was pretty awesome too. In addittion to getting a picture with Anele Mdoda and Sizwe Dlomo, hearing Darren Simpson’s version of ‘Ice Ice Baby’ as well as Producer Brad’s rapping skills, I also met Denise Zimba. Somehow we found ourselves leaving the VIP arena and I see this crazy girl jumping up and down and we’re all like, that has to be Denise. I was surprised. Not that she was there but that she was..I’M TALLER THAN DENISE!! (But she has a better fashion sense than me so I lose).
After trying to coyly confirm that she was who we thought she was without coming off as total VIP-virginal groupies, we took a picture. However, I couldn’t take a picture with her without saying I was coming for her number one spot. Ms. Denise totally caught me off guard and praised my ballsy mentality. She told me to pack my bags and move to New York because that’s where I belong. She continued to give me the greatest piece of advice I think I will ever hear and for that, I am so thankful in more ways than I can express.
All in all the festival was a huge success with it being the most successful Joburg Day of all time!!! 2014 really is a year for the ages. The festival was beyond properly organized and I’m so glad I got to experience it. If you missed out or you just want to see a performance, head to the 94.7 Highveld website to see the performances.
Pastry Playdates 