South Coast Bike Fest™ 2018 unleashes a rocking line-up of musical acts

The Margate Beachfront Boulevard will play host to some of the country’s top musical acts from 27 to 30 April as the action-packed South Coast Bike Fest™ returns to the KwaZulu-Natal province. This popular biking event is presented by Ugu South Coast Tourism with endorsement and support from Ugu District and Ray Nkonyeni Municipalities.

“The South Coast Bike Fest™ 2018 talented line-up has escalated to incorporate a reflective melting pot of genres and colourful array of artists,” said event organiser, Vicky Wentzel. “We have specifically created a rock element of hand-selected bands, voted in by the motorcycle fraternity that will keep the Jack Daniels Rock Stage rocking 12 hours a day throughout the festival. A tremendous amount of detail has been put into selecting a creative line-up across the programme because we truly care about every person who attends the event.”

This year, The Carling Black Label Main Beach Stage themes will change daily – opening with an Afrikaans rock session, moving towards the younger base of visitors on the Saturday which includes big-name artists appearing at different festival venues, finishing off the set with a colourfes Bollywood vibe on the final day. Organisers have also arranged for a third line-up of artists set to feature on the jazz and reggae decks. Add street busking, marching bands, street hip hop, dance and even acapella to the mix, and this is truly a not-to-be-missed music festival.

 A feast of acoustic magic

The Jack Daniels Rock Stage and Carling Black Label Main Beach Stage will reverberate with the sounds of South Africa’s finest bands, singers and DJs. Among them are Belville-based Unit 11, a band whose rock with blues undertones has become synonymous with the Jack Daniels name countrywide. ‘Sleeze’ rockers, The Sinners, hail from Durban and find their hillbilly rock musical inspiration in Tarantino Films, card counting and hangovers.

Alternative rockers, The Color Blew combine talent and passion to create music that is fuelled by the moment, so no ‘radio-friendly’ hits for this pure music group. The audience will get a glimpse at local talent, Circle of Stones, a four-piece hard rock and blues band from right there on the South Coast.

Bellville’s iconic frontman of Fokofpolisiekar and Van Coke Kartel – Francois Van Coke – will be performing a number of his hits including the poignant ballad, Toe Vind Ek Jou. Another South African legend, Karen Zoid will prove why she earned the Best Female Artist title at the 2008 South African Music Awards (SAMAs). This Belgian-born Johannesburg local is considered by many to be South Africa’s ‘Queen of Rock’.

Also featuring at this star-studded event is Springbok Nude Girls, a group that started playing to university crowds in Stellenbosch before become national icons with hits including ‘Bubblegum on My Boots’ and ‘Blue Eyes’.

On Saturday afternoon, the Carling Black Label Main Beach Stage will welcome Doowap, a sound engineering graduate with a love for bass-driven music that emerged during her time on the underground music scene. SAMAs-nominated, Durban-born Kyle Deutsch – a chiropractor by trade – will take to the stage later that night, having recently performed as an opener for Justin Bieber alongside the Wolf Pack collective.

Other Saturday acts that are not to be missed include Aewon Wolf, Sketchy Bongo and Timo ODV, while Sunday keeps the beats going with a number of headline artists, among themChunda Munki – the crowd-pleasing DJ and producer who also goes by the name Blayze Saunders.

Ramsgate local, Aden Hinds, will feature at the Carling Black Label Main Beach stage on Sunday night. Hinds is known as an insightful, melodic songwriter with a warm, distinctive voice which has taken him across the country and as far as India. He started his career as an informal mentee of legendary Syd Kitchen who had a profound influence on his musical style.

Another singer/songwriter making waves internationally is Fish Hoek-resident Matthew Molewho made South African chart history by becoming the first local artist to enter the iTunes album chart number one with his debut album, The Home We Built. He’ll showcase his international-level talent at the Carling Black Label Main Beach Stage on Sunday night. Following him will be Cape Town’s live electronic act, The Kiffness, with fellow Capetonian electronic trio, GoodLuck,set to get the crowd wild with their musical mayhem.

Those attending the Party on the Move will get to enjoy music by legendary DJs including DJ Fresh, DJ Bruce and Michael Zuma while those making it to the Midday Shandis Nton Nton will be entertained by Gagasi FM anchors – DJ LeSoul, Felix Hlophe and FlyMotion.

Don’t miss out on any of the action

In addition to the incredible musical acts, the South Coast Bike Fest™ has an action-packed line-up of entertainment, tasty cuisine, coastal bars and brilliant biking displays.

All bikers and pillions are urged to pre-register online for #freefunseeker tickets which gives free access to the entire event precinct including the main stage featuring all the headline artist performances.

Ticket prices

All non-biking pedestrians will be charged a nominal fee of R60 per day which provides access to the event precinct including the three main beach festival stages, beachfront boulevard themed bars, street entertainment, demo rides, trader and expo zones, stunt shows, food courts, EnduroX staging arenas and all associated motorcycle enthusiast festival activations.

For another R150, #fuelyourfun ticket holders can access the Carling Black Label Main Beach Stage Golden Circle.

Pre-registration for the biking community and limited pedestrian ticket sales are available at www.southcoastbikefest.co.za. To book a vending site, submit your band or for general enquiries contact Vicky Wentzel at info@southcoastbikefest.co.za