International artist Jamie Fine heads to Mbombela
MBOMBELA - Canadian musician Jamie Fine will be coming to Mbombela as part of her tour, to perform at the Lowveld National Botanical Garden on Wednesday May 1.
Lowvelder chatted to Fine about the tour, her music career and her excitement about performing in South Africa again, in particular the Lowveld.
Fine said she had visited South Africa for the very first time in September last year for the Beefstock Rock Festival 2023. “It was absolutely the best experience in my entire life. It was incredible, both the people and the energy.”
Speaking about her favourite experiences while visiting the country, she said she was most excited about seeing an elephant, because, growing up in Canada, there are no wild animals like that on that side of the world. “It was on the top of my bucket list to see an elephant. It was the most beautiful moments of my life,” she said.
Fine said a close second was after she and her band had performed at the festival and went to their accommodation, where the owners of the cottage they were all staying in made them potjiekos. “I felt overwhelmed, as we felt right at home,” she said.
When asked about how she felt knowing she had so many fans here in South Africa, Fine said it was something she never expected. “One of the places we look to get the most attention is the US. What South Africa has given me and my music far exceeds what I expected,” she said. “It was an overwhelming feeling, performing in front of an international audience - the way they welcomed the guitarist and drummers and made them feel like the stars that they are. South Africa is the biggest consumer of the ‘If Anything’s Left’ music video on YouTube.”
She said during her second to last day in South Africa in 2023, she had already been planning her return, and wanted to expand her tour to other parts of South Africa. She said she wanted to perform wherever her fans were, and she saw that a lot of listeners of her music were based right in Mbombela.
Fine said that for her upcoming tour, she is busy preparing a list of things she wants to do and places she wants to visit. “We want to meet people and experience what they experience on the daily. We also want to braai in every city we visit,” she said.
When asked what her Mbombela fans can expect during her show, she said she and her band like to have fun on the stage. She said they all made a pact that they will always have fun, regardless of the size of the room or the crowd. “We like laughing and interacting with the crowd. We want everyone to forget their problems and be OK and feel something different.”
Talking about how her passion for music started in the first place, she said her dad played piano when she was growing up, and this instilled a love of music within her. “When I was in Grade 7, and about 11 or 12 years old, I was singing in the shower, and when I got out, my dad said, ‘You can sing, kid.’
That day I went to my music teacher and started talking to her about my music.
“Since then, I knew what I wanted to do with my life. I never felt more myself, or an authentic version of myself than when I am performing,” she said.
Other artists performing at the Lowveld National Botanical Garden alongside Fine include Martin Bester, Nicole Carlse, Soné, HunTer Leite and Scallywag. For more information, email info@onfire.events.co.za.