Shakatak, the legendary English jazz-funk band, is returning to Cape Town for just one show on Saturday, 28th June 2025. The band, comprising Jill Saward (lead vocals), Bill Sharpe (keys), Keith Winter (guitar), George Anderson (bass) and Roger Odell (drums), will be heading to the Mother City for a night fans will foster, forever. Today Shakatak amplify their live shows with Jacqui Hicks (backing vocals, saxophone & flute) or Debby Bracknell (backing vocals & flute) and Alan Wormald (guitar & backing vocals). “This music still glows as brightly as that first hearing…Shakatak aren’t just a band, they are the soundtrack to our lives” RONNIE SCOTT’S House Magazine (UK)? Shakatak have enjoyed a level of success, and career longevity rarely paralleled in contemporary music – but then Shakatak is a particularly unusual group. Due to the nature of their music, their fanbase is far-reaching while always retaining an ‘underground element’. This paradox sees the band, known primarily as serious jazz/funk musicians, enjoying high ‘cult’ status and instant recognition as a much-loved household favourite. Thanks to their successful recording career, Shakatak has firmly established itself as a vibrant live act, combining astute musicianship with a sense of fun that translates perfectly with audiences worldwide to this day. Shakatak scored several major hits, “Night Birds” (1982) and “Down on the Street” (1984), plus a further 12 entries in the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles. The group is still active, selling out tours, particularly in Japan and the Far East, and commonly produces a new album every two years on JVC Records. From their first release in August 1980 to their first 1981 album, Drivin’ Hard, the band’s singles and albums have entered the charts throughout their careers. The release of 1981’s “Easier Said Than Done” gave Shakatak the radio exposure needed for their first Top 20 hit. The follow-up, “Night Birds” …
Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse for Theatre on the Square 10 -15 December
Sandton – The acclaimed Theatre on the Square will host an extraordinary series of jazz performances from December 10th to December 15th, 2024, featuring the legendary Sipho “Hotstix” Mabuse. These performances will celebrate the enduring power of music, bringing together generations of jazz lovers for an unforgettable experience. Accompanying Mabuse are the dynamic Ashish Joshi and Shanjeet Teeluck, creating a lineup that promises to captivate and inspire. This event is set to highlight the artistry and legacy of Mabuse, whose career spans over five decades and remains an indelible part of South African musical histo Renowned for his innovative approach and iconic hits like Burn Out, Mabuse continues to redefine what it means to be a jazz musician. The collaboration with Joshi and Teeluck reflects the vibrant evolution of jazz, showcasing the genre’s ability to innovate while remaining deeply rooted in its traditions. Located in the heart of Sandton, Theatre on the Square provides an intimate and acoustically perfect setting for this remarkable showcase. The evening will include both solo performances and collaborative. moments, offering a rare chance to witness the synergy between three exceptional talents. Event Details: Date: December 10th -15th, 2024 Time: 7:30 PM Venue: Theatre on the Square, Sandton Tickets for this highly anticipated event are available through the Theatre on the Square Box Office or online at www.theatreonthesquare.co.za. CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za. Author: Martin Myers from Triple M Entertainment on behalf of Sipho Mabuse. …
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The 2024 Book Lounge Book of the Year Award Goes to Siphokazi Jonas
"The 2024 Book Lounge Book of the Year award goes to Siphokazi Jonas for her incredible collection of poetry, ‘Weeping Becomes a River’ Weeping Becomes a River is storytelling as a tapestry, threads of ancestral folktales woven through the complex contradictions of modern living. Through her poems, Siphokazi Jonas delivers a crisp portrait of a marginalized body supposedly born to freedom, an attempted roadmap through a post-apartheid age of surveillance. It is her love letter to being a full self, unapologetic and untranslatable, to the deliberate act of becoming, always.” CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za. Author: Martin Myers from Triple M Entertainment on behalf of Siphokazi Jonas. …
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Siphokazi Jonas Takes Weeping Becomes a River to Gauteng This Week for 3 Book Launches.
After a packed Launch at the Book Lounge in Cape Town last week ,Siphokazi takes Weeping becomes a River to Gauteng this week for 3 book launches. The dates are : 5 November -Exclusive Books -Rosebank at 6pm. 6 November -Exclusive Books - Woodlands Mall at 6pm. 7th November -Book Circle Capital - Melville at 5.30pm. Poetry lovers and those curious to embrace original creative writing that speaks to a South African reality and a global audience keen to understand the power of prose please come together at these three launch dates The multi-award-winning writer, performer and poet Siphokazi Jonas’ debut, Penguin Random House poetry collection, Weeping Becomes a River, released in September 2024, the latter part of 2024, into 2025 looks to be an eventful and confirmatory career trajectory for the firebrand. The book has already gone into reprint an extraordinary achievement for a poetry book. CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za. Author: Martin Myers from triple M Entertainment on behalf of Siphokazi Jonas. …
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Breaking Boundaries Building Bridges Brings Andre Vlok to Athwood Primary School on 23rd September
Headed by Bryan Torien, BREAKING BOUNDARIES BUILDING BRIDGES (BBBB) tackles some of the challenges experienced by homeless people and children in informal settlements and gangster-ridden communities, such as Mannenberg. Andre Vlok one the the foremost experts in conflict resolution is coming to Cape Town on 23rd September to teach children in gang-ridden areas how to resolve conflict effectively. The school children in Mannenberg come to a cricket field daily, where we provide them a safe environment to do their homework, have a meal, and be kept doing constructive work to empower them for the future. We cook for the children daily, with our own funds and donations from the public. NPO Breaking Boundaries Building Bridges is responsible for the #Christmaslunchunderthebridge and #boekaunderthebridge initiatives that Soli Philander is a part of too. For more information please speak to Bryan Torien: +27 080 7276 | bryantorien@gmail.com CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za. Author: Martin Myers from martin myers on behalf of Bryan Torien. …
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Atlantic Starr the American Rhythm and Blues Band Based in White Plains, New York Is Set To Wow Cape Town on Saturday 28th September 2024.
Hits like "Always", "Secret Lovers", "Circles”, “Masterpiece”, My first Love, Send for me, Am I Dreaming and with 14 albums under their belt expect a 90-minute hit filled evening on Saturday 28th September at Grand West Casino and Entertainment world in Cape Town. The show is brought to you by Kyk & Kie channel 145 , Radio Partner Heart 104.9fm and Frequent Traveller along with The Cape Argus and The Daily Voice The band consists of Wayne Lewis ,Jonathan Lewis ,Shammah Carter and Melessa Pierce will be performing all the hits and more. Wayne Lewis remarked “Cape Town is special in so many ways and we know ,how well liked we are ,so we are so excited to come back and have a joyful evening with our fans.” Concert promoter SMH (who brought Shakatak & Robin S to Cape Town in 2023 and Peaches & Herb in June 2024 ) are bringing the hit-makers to Cape Town for this one off concert . Young and not-so-young Capetonians alike can look forward to a unique performance featuring the latest and greatest hits Tickets from R495.00 on sale now via Ticketmaster only Atlantic Starr -notes Atlantic Starr began in Greenburgh, New York with trumpeter Duke Jones (who left the band prior to their first recordings), drummer Porter Carroll Jr., bassist Clifford Archer, percussionist and flautist Joseph Phillips, Sheldon Tucker (guitar; parted ways with the band before the first recordings), and three brothers: David Lewis (vocals/guitar), Wayne Lewis (keyboards and vocals), and Jonathan Lewis (percussion and trombone). The band's membership eventually stabilized around Carroll, Archer, Phillips, the three Lewis brothers, lead singer Sharon Bryant (who was later replaced by Barbara Weathers), trumpeter William Sudderth III, and saxophonist Damon Rentie (who was later replaced by Koran Daniels). In 1977, the band came to Westwood, California, and performed on the nightclub scene under the name "Newban," which they agreed to change at the request of …
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Fagrie Isaacs to Open for Atlantic Starr on 28th September at Grand Arena ,Grandwest.
Fagrie Isaacs (former lead singer of the Boyz ) has been selected by the Concert promoters SMH (who brought Shakatak & Robin S to Cape Town in 2023 and Peaches & Herb in June 2024 ) to open for Atlantic Starr on 28th Sept at Grand Arena ,GrandWest. Expect a hot hit filled evening with Atlantic Starr delivering the "Always", "Secret Lovers", "Circles”, “Masterpiece”, My first Love, Send for me, Am I Dreaming and with 14 albums under their belt expect a 90-minute hit filled evening on Saturday 28th September in Cape Town. Fagrie started his musical journey at the age of six where he was the lead vocalist for his school choir. His love for music encouraged him to sing whenever and where ever he could and started a family group performing at various musical productions. He later joined Cape Town’s most loved boy band The Boyz and was their lead singer for many years. The album called Getting Ready for the Party was released in 2010, for the World Cup 2010 in South Africa, this led up to Fagrie being the lead male vocalist for production of the Cape Carnival album. Fagrie Isaacs was also the lead singer in his Islamic Gospel band called Unity and has performed nationally, and was the headline act for 5 years at the Al Ansaar Souk at the Durban ICC which is the biggest souk in the Southern hemisphere hosting over 350 000 people over 6 days. UNITY has also toured the UK after releasing their debut album called In Love and War where he wrote and composed most of the songs featured on the album, Listen to Oceans Apart. The show is brought to you by Kyk & Kie channel 145 , Radio Partner Heart 104.9fm and Frequent Traveller along with The Cape Argus and The Daily Voice Tickets from R495.00 on sale now via Ticketmaster only. CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za. Author: Martin Myers from monthly masterclasses and conferences on behalf of SHM PROMOTERS. …
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Siphokazi Jonas Debut Poetry Collection Published by Penguin Random House In Book Stores Now
On the eve of the multi-award-winning writer, performer and poet Siphokazi Jonas’ forthcoming debut, Penguin Random House poetry collection, Weeping Becomes a River, released in September 2024, the latter part of 2024, into 2025 looks to be an eventful and confirmatory career trajectory for the firebrand. Siphokazi Jonas is a weaver of seemingly discordant worlds; growing up in an Afrikaans dorpie, attending an English boarding school, and going on annual holidays to a village, emaXhoseni, during the transition years of South Africa’s democracy made this a necessity. In Weeping Becomes a River, she confronts the linguistic and cultural alienation experienced as a black learner in former Model C schools in the 1990s and early 2000s. Then, she fashions the fragments to reclaim and rewrite her place within a lineage of storytellers. Migrating between forms, poetry and intsomi, she navigates the waters of tradition, religion, intergenerational experiences of rural and urban spaces, and how family dynamics affect the body. She is not only a referee of the raging tensions within her but also pieces together a language for pathways of leaving and returning. Her poems grapple with the past, the present, and possible futures without forgetting that “the body is marked territory from birth, and the scent of it never leaves”. Endorsements as to her talent and ongoing contribution to the literary arts are multiform. Still, one of the most significant is that written by the esteemed film score composer Trevor Jones in the foreword to Weeping Becomes a River. “Her writing has an underlying political relevance, not only as a commentary on the politics of South Africa and her ethnicity but also as an eagerness to address and redress the gender balance. In this work, she juxtaposes a mythic story with poems, creating an intriguing world through this unusual narrative form, conjuring up new experiences and realities and triggering ideas that resonate in the reader’s …
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FREE Music Business Workshops in George on Sat 11 Nov from 10am
FREE WORKSHOP : Music business 101 in George, Saturday 11 Nov 2023 at 10:00 FREE Tickets from : Quicket Speakers include : Music Exchange Founder : Martin Myers www.martinmyersct.com CEO of Jazzathon -Craig Parks Host Germaine Leonard from Garden Route Musicians Network MB101-FREEworshop.png Topics include, but not limited to the ones listed below: 1 )How to market yourself as a creative -Key principles 2 ) Press releases ..how to do it with practical examples 3) EPK -what is it 4) Biographies -how to do it correctly 5 ) Come present and talk about your music and apply to play at Jazzathon 2024 held in January in CT 6 ) Q & A with ALL speakers 7 ) what is AYOBA ,Bizcomunity ,Cape Talk "Business of Entertainment” ? CLICK HERE to submit your press release to MyPR.co.za for free. …
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Shakatak to Cape Town for just one show on Saturday, 30 September, as part of their 40th anniversary world tour
Shakatak, the legendary English jazz-funk band, is returning to Cape Town for just one show on Saturday, 30 September, as part of their 40th anniversary world tour. The band, comprising Jill Saward (lead vocals), Bill Sharpe (keys), Keith Winter (guitar), George Anderson (bass) and Roger Odell (drums), will be heading to the Mother City for a night fans will foster, forever. Today Shakatak amplify their live shows with Jacqui Hicks (backing vocals, saxophone & flute) or Debby Bracknell (backing vocals & flute) and Alan Wormald (guitar & backing vocals). Shakatak have enjoyed a level of success, and career longevity rarely paralleled in contemporary music – but then Shakatak is a particularly unusual group. Due to the nature of their music, their fanbase is far-reaching while always retaining an ‘underground element’. This paradox sees the band, known primarily as serious jazz/funk musicians, enjoying high ‘cult’ status and instant recognition as a much-loved household favourite. Thanks to their successful recording career, Shakatak has firmly established itself as a vibrant live act, combining astute musicianship with a sense of fun that translates perfectly with audiences worldwide to this day. Shakatak scored several major hits, “Night Birds” (1982) and “Down on the Street” (1984), plus a further 12 entries in the Guinness Book of British Hit Singles. The group is still active, selling out tours, particularly in Japan and the Far East, and commonly produces a new album every two years on JVC Records. From their first release in August 1980 to their first 1981 album, Drivin’ Hard, the band’s singles and albums have entered the charts throughout their careers. The release of 1981’s “Easier Said Than Done” gave Shakatak the radio exposure needed for their first Top 20 hit. The follow-up, “Night Birds” (1982), was their first single to reach the Top 10 The self-titled album on which the track appears also gave Shakatak …