The Cape Town Burning Spear show has been cancelled, but the Johannesburg show will continue.
Lioness Productions, the promoters of the Burning Spear One People Africa Tour South Africa, posted a ‘notice’ on Burning Spear Live in South Africa Facebook page announcing that the Cape Town leg of the Tour has been cancelled.
The notice read: “Due to some technical challenges beyond our control, we are forced to cancel the Cape Town Show. Your current ticket is still valid for the Johannesburg show, but should you wish to get a refund, please contact Customer Service Support at TicketPro..” It then proceeds to give Ticket Pro’s opening times and contact details. It ends with: “Any inconvenience is regrettable.”
What is regrettable is the tone of The announcement. It’s not a press statement, it’s not on the promoters letter head, No Date, No Salutation, No Apology. The phrasing invites only conjecture. They are not remorseful of the inconvenience and the disappointment caused by the cancellation to many in the Western Cape. That the current ticket is valid for Johannesburg is no consolation, for many cannot afford the trip to Johannesburg. The socio economic situation of the most unequal country in the World does not allow that. The majority of Burning Spear Music’s supporters and admirers are the natives, who are disproportionately unemployed. Lucky are those who can afford the trip.
Despite the announcement being circulated and making rounds on social media, neither BurningSpearMusic nor the promoters Sound System Club have addressed this on their respective pages, the channels they use for communicating with their fans. No update has been made so far and Fans are anxious to hear the confirmation from the African Teacher himself, as he has been updating on all things One People Africa Tour. Even the venue Mhudi Wine Farm, seem to have missed the memo as they still have the post of the event on their FB page. We reached out to the local promoters, Lioness Production, but they did not respond to our correspondence.
The information was released one day after the final lineup for the Johannesburg show was revealed, The addition of the supporting acts includes South African Music Award Winners Reign Afrika and Bongo Riot and Skeleton Blazer who was a nominee for same awards. Black Labone House Band, popular in Pretoria, and JahSeed di FireSeed of the African Storm Soundsystem. The line up also includes Nicky B, a DJ and music specialist for almost 30 years who hosts the World Show on Kaya FM 95.9 since 1997. Nicky B is a World Music aficionado. Her presence is for validation. Many deserving Reggae bands and DJ’s were overlooked.
Considering that the first wave of supporting acts for Johannesburg had long been announced,(Colbert Mukwevho, Kebra Ethiopia Sound, Lucky Dube Band and Nicky B) one clearly disappointed fan said that he saw this coming when the Cape Town lineup was not revealed. Another fan noted that the ticket system prevented him from checking if there were any more tickets available for Cape Town, so he was unable to buy any.
The Johannesburg show will go on regardless of all of this. The One People Africa Tour South Africa is still in full swing. October 19, 2024 at Emperors Place (The Park). Tickets available at Ticket Pro. VIP tickets already sold out Its going to be Massive!