See and hear the best RAW new talent the city has to offer

FROM a small open mic evening to a packed house at the Baxter theatre, RAW (Real Art Wednesdays) kicked off at the Baxter yesterday showcasing some of the best unseen talent the city has to offer.

The showcase formed part of the Baxter’s annual Zabalaza Theatre Festival featuring more than 40 groundbreaking works by young theatre-makers and close to 150 artists from all over the Western Cape.

Established in 2016, RAW began as a small open mic evening called Express Yourself.

Guitarist and singer Keagan Williams was the original host and later joined forces with Chad Isaacs from music label TyT Productions to create a show that would entertain the masses with a diverse selection of artists. Rapper Quinlan “Kiiing Leo” Oliphant, 22, from Lotus River, said the platform gave him a much-needed step forward when he started out.

“It gave me more time on stage than I had ever had before even though I had been rapping for years.

“It is quite a nice concept, because unseen people are getting recognised,” he said.

Oliphant said this was the second big stage he had performed on aside from the Grand West Grand Arena.

He performed two songs, one called Movement off his second mixtape and a new track called The Weather.

The show featured 23 acts – from singers, rappers, dancers, poets, comedians, all packaged into one show – headlined by R&B singer Keeno Lee.

The festival ends with the award ceremony on Saturday where awards would be handed out to artists and productions in various categories and the Best of the Zabalaza Festival winner would be announced.

The next RAW show take place on Friday and features singers, bands, dancers, rappers, poets and beatboxers, all taking to the stage.

Tickets are R50.