Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Don’t be blue, check this out, bru!
Table Mountain Blues Summit turns 10 this year and top bands get ready to rock your world
THE Table Mountain Blues Summit celebrates its 10th anniversary next Saturday, with what organiser Mike Combrinck calls a return to its roots. Combrinck said he thought of the concept of starting a blues festival in Cape Town after attending a jazz and blues session at the Steak and Ale in Pretoria in 2005.
“Good blues shows were relatively hard to find in South Africa at the time. So in 2006 the first Table Mountain Blues Summit was held at Tafelberg Tavern in Cape Town, showcasing six blues acts to an audience of just under 450 guests.
“We gave our hearts and souls and boots to get this going. In 2007 Richard Pryor came aboard as a partner and we grew this little festival into the monster it became – last year had 22 acts.
“Richard played a big role in the development of the summit over the past few years, but has now stepped down due to other responsibilities. The summit brought in more rock and folk music over the last few years, but my friend Mike Crawford, who has now come on board, and I decided to keep the summit to its original blues roots for our 10-year celebration.”
This means the festival will be only one day instead of two and will showcase purely blues as played by 12 of the top acts in the country.
The line-up comprises the Albert Frost Trio, The Black Cat Bones, Gerald Clark, Guy Collins Band, The Boulevard Blues Band, Aidan Martin Trio, Jonathan Peyper Band, Frank Freeman, The Studebakers, Wayne Pauli Trio, Basson Laubscher & The Violent Free Peace, and Bandeleros.
“It is great to add that lots of acts are using the summit as a launch pad for their new albums and for us the organisers, we are hugely grateful for the confidence and high esteem these musos have for the event,” said Combrinck.
“It is also great to see the client base is so varied; punters who are there to listen are as young as 12 to 15 years old, up to those in their seventies. The kids are coming to the blues and that is the main reason we do the summit – to grow the genre and keep it alive.”
Taking place at Hillcrest Quarry in Durbanville, gates open at 10am and the first band up is at 11am to begin 13 hours of top quality blues.
Tickets are R195 from Computicket or can be bought at the venue. Free entrance for children under 12 (must present some form of ID).
If it’s blues you want, then the Table Mountain Blues Summit is the place you will get it, said Combrinck.
● For more information see www.bluessummit.co.za.