Tour time for Durban
STARTING out as an entertainment reporter just over a decade ago, I recall one of the biggest complaints that often made the news back then was how Durban was all too often excluded from the tours of major international acts.
Fast-forward to today and that situation has seemingly turned on its head.
A number of major acts are headed to the city in the next few months.
Tour list:
In May, Showtime Promotions will bring Sanam – India’s “Fabulous Four” to Durban as part of their South African tour. The boy band will perform on May 27 at The Globe at Suncoast at 8pm. The band rose to fame after its renditions of classic Bollywood hit songs. It has since recorded and performed songs in Hindi, English, Spanish and Gujarati. The songs include Main Hoon featured in the Hollywood blockbuster, The Amazing Spiderman. Tickets: Ticketpro.
Big Concerts International will bring UB40, featuring Ali Campbell, to South Africa in June. Campbell will be joined by his nine-piece band and will be honouring long time member Astro, who died in 2021. The organisers recently confirmed that due to demand, they had added an additional date to the Durban-leg of the tour. The band – popular for hits like Red Red Wine, I Got You Babe, (I Can't Help) Falling In Love With You, Cherry Oh Baby and Kingston Town – will now perform at the ICC in Durban on June 1 (sold out) and June 2. Tickets: www.ticketmaster.co.za Woodmark Events SA will bring Indian singing sensation Sid Sriram to the Durban ICC Arena on June 17. Sriram found worldwide
fame after his song Adiye was featured in the film, Kadal. Other hits include Yaar Azhaippadhu, Anthimaalai Neram, Kannaana Kanney, Maruvaarthai, Nee Nenacha, Srivalli, Kumkumala, Deva Koumala and Pinju Panji Mazhai.
Tickets: Computicket. Entertainment company G21 Live together with Vertex Events is bringing multi-Grammy-nominated international artist Tamia to Durban as part of a three-city tour. The Canadian-born R&B singer/songwriter has released multiple albums, collaborated with international musical icons and is known for her philanthropic work in the music industry. Tamia will perform on July 7 at the Durban ICC. Tickets: Ticketpro.
The same event organisers are also bringing Boyz II Men to Durban. The city was initially not on the stopover list, but the organisers recently announced that they have had to add a Durban leg to Boyz II Men’s South African Tour after Durban fans reached out. The group will perform at the ICC on November 5. Tickets: Ticketpro.
The organisers of some events commented on a few of the factors driving shows to Durban.
Justin van Wyk, the CEO of Big Concerts, said it was not the lack of support that deterred tours from coming to Durban.
“The support is fantastic and we love coming to Durban. It’s the economics of travel days without revenue, with 50 plus people on the road, and high local production costs that make it financially challenging to include additional shows outside of Gauteng and the Western Cape. But to be clear, when there is an opportunity to include Durban, we always do.”
Glen Netshipise, a spokesperson for G21 Live, said the company prided itself in bringing some of the biggest names in entertainment to South Africa.
“Our diverse and experienced team are in tune with trends and which artists are currently hot in the different regions.
“The Durban audience, though not as big as Joburg or Cape Town, has always been a win for us. G21 Live has been bringing live entertainment shows to Durban for over a decade now.
“We have done various international shows featuring R&B and hip hop artists. The Durban audience we target prefer seated and more intimate shows. We are in talks with a few big names for next year and will keep the audience posted.”
Veesham Maharaj and Mike Narsey of Showtime Promotions, said the high cost of venue hire was one of the reasons for major concerts not being held in Durban. They said Johannesburg and Cape Town had larger venue options to host concerts within a casino complex.
Narsey said: “This helps to reduce the cost of production towards the concert, which makes it viable for any promoter. South Africa has the largest Indian population outside of India. With this in mind, we bring Bollywood international concerts to our shores. We allow local artists to showcase their talent on stage at these events, resulting in their growth among various international acts.
“We believe the key factors are the popularity of an artist, together with the expertise of executing a concert, and finally the correct ticket pricing which is affordable. This is what will sell out a concert.”
Maharaj said the poor rand/dollar exchange rate was also a factor. “We have not, to date, received any government funding. Thus with the limited sponsors, larger Bollywood concerts will be very limited and difficult to secure.”