NYE 2017/2018!
I got the call up to play with Mega talented rapper from Ghana and New York, Blitz The Ambassador in the first ever Afropunk Johannesburg. Afropunk was founded in 2005 as a festival in Brooklyn, NY, and now has expanded internationally.
The festival struggled with some serious issues at the onset with Solange Knowles pulling out just a few days before, due to health issues relating to her autonomic disorder. Then they pulled the main headliner from the 30th, Anderson Paak, to put him on the 31st in order to make up for not having Solange. This left the 30th with a fairly threadbare lineup (Besides us of course 😜 ), but I was amazed at how amped the crowd were despite all this. They were adamant they were going to have fun.
The day started off with a few live bands that were cool and then swopped over to DJ's with vocalists. My issue with some of these performances was that the artists seemed to place more stock in how they looked than in how they sounded, but DAMN, the fashion was incredible!
The crowd seemed to be steeped in a relaxed haze, grooving to the beats, but we felt that they needed to be woken up. At 8:30 the Blitz The Ambassador performance began, and we brought the most furious, upbeat Afrobeat and Hip Hop grooves that could be mustered. The crowd visibly exploded as they were fed the kind of energy that had been missing up until that point.
I must say about the Blitz set, is that its well choreographed, its theatrical, and its aerobic as hell. I remember at some moments, holding onto my Trombone and take an inhaled breath more akin to a dying gasp, after running up and down the stage, leaping in the air, thinking to myself, "My blood needs oxygen or I'm going to die up here!" It was exhilarating, and I was super glad that I forced myself to hit the gym in the months leading up to this gig.
Oh did I mention there was a hail storm? Well, there was a hail storm...in typical Johannesburg fashion, the music had to be cut off for two hours prior to our set, as hail stoned almost the size of golf balls came during out of the sky.
I may have got caught in it.
Walking around after the show I was greeted by so many people and marvelled at the diversity at this festival, although so many times I was called over with: "Hey its that white boy trumpet player" 😂
Here are some pics leading up to the show.
If you're interested in listening to some Blitz then check out this video!
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