Flying in the face of pop culture’s remixing and auto-tuning, the Oesfees showcases home-grown melodies accompanied by a list of instruments too long to print.
This annual Cape rural musical festival, in its fourth year, celebrates the end of the Franschhoek Valley harvest at Solms-Delta Wine Estate, and with free tickets issued to the valley’s farm workers, it’s a real party.
The music leaps between generations and genres. Brass band, Afrikaans folk, vastrap, langarm, hip hop and jazz are a few. The music and performers are all 100 percent Cape.
While some are headliners with big credits to their names, many of the performers are amateurs with day jobs. There are even a handful of octogenarians, like Ouma Martha Adams.
One of this year’s acts is Philip de Villiers en die Blinde Boereorkes. By day, the band’s accordionist 80-year-old Oom Jerry Harrison makes cane furniture, and bass player Sakkie Reid manufactures mattress springs.
Another tradition in the throes of revival on stage at the Oesfees is riel dance. This entertaining dance form has its roots in Khoi and San ceremonial dances, and was once regularly performed by farmworkers and sheep shearers across the Cape.
Just five years ago, riel dance was on the brink of extinction, but the ATKV (Afrikaanse Taal en Kultuurvereniging) fostered renewed interest through a national competition.
Performing at the Oesfees will be the Witzenberg Rieldansers, the high-energy group from Ceres/Prince Alfred that won the Senior 2010 ATKV Rieldans competition, along with Junior runners-up Betjies Van Betjiesfontein.
Returning as headliner this year is Radio Kalahari Orkes, fronted by actor/musician Ian Roberts.
Afrikaans rock will take centre stage with Valiant en Ollie – the duo of Valiant Swart, a kingpin of the genre also known as “Die Mystic Boer”, and Ollie Viljoen, with his unique blend of jazz, Rock Blues and Boeremusiek.
Other highlights include Les Javan, one of the Cape’s great composers and artist-in-resident at Solms-Delta; the Papier Family Langarm Orkes; spoon-slide guitarist Hannes Coetzee; brass stage-band Delta Langbroek joined by Adriaan Brand, the trumpeter of Springbok Nude Girls fame; and Tribal Echo. And who could resist the Klein Handjies, the Solms-Delta crèche performing traditional songs.
With 17 diverse acts, it’s a feast, even without the snoek and patats, waterblommetjie bredie and other Kaapse specialties on offer.
l The Oesfees takes place on Saturday March 26 from 11am to 9pm at Solms-Delta Wine Estate. Presale tickets are available at Solms-Delta, Franschhoek tourism offices or online from www.ticketbreak.co.za for R110, or at the gate for R130. Entrance for children under 12 is free, if accompanied by parents.
See www.solms-delta.co.z, or call 021 874 3937.