RAMfest Lineup and Some Depressing Thoughts on Local Music Fests

The first few bands of this year's RAMfest have been announced. The Joburg leg, which will be held in Riversands Farm in Fourways, will feature the likes of The Narrow, Fokofpolisiekar, the Shadowclub, Newtown Knife Gang and whoever else the organisers are frantically negotiate terms with. For big-name international acts, there's psychedelic trance DJ Infected Mushroom and metalheads In Flames. Tickets are R350, plus another R30 to R50 if you're planning on camping there for a night or two.



I'd be more excited about the thought of RAMfest except I saw the amazing lineup for this year's Coachella first so now I find myself crying uncontrollably while compulsively scarfing down Whispers and wishing I lived in California. It really puts into perspective how lacking in oomph our biggest festivals are when you look at a lineup like Coachella's and realise our headlining international acts would be third tier in most other international festivals.



I know that expecting a local festival to be anywhere near the level of fucking Coachella is about as reasonable as expecting my Hyundai Getz to drive like a Ferrari, but can I at least whine that none of our festivals approach the level of a Rock in Rio or any low-level Summer festival in Europe? Like Cokefest was, only with more relevant bands and not cancelled.

Unfortunately, sustaining a big international event of this scale seems increasingly unlikely when we seem to barely be able to support small-scale local events like the now defunct Rocking the Gardens (for those of us too broke to go to Rocking the Daisies) and Old Mutual Encounters concerts.

Meanwhile, at the Big Concerts Facebook page, the most requested artists (and I use that term in the loosest possible sense) are Nickelback and Westlife. This must be what going mad feels like.