10-year-old guitarist plays at Valentine’s dance

The Crown Hotel was abuzz with activity on the “night of love”, with a large crowd attending their Valentine’s dinner and dance.

A red and white colour scheme set the scene for the evening’s entertainment and everybody was “dressed to break some hearts”.

The hall was packed to capacity, with hardly any space to even walk! But it wasn’t walking that patrons had come to do, and the dancing shoes were on when popular Durban band ‘The Tyles’ started their performance. This musical group has appeared at the ‘Battle of the Bands’ at the iZulu Theatre, Sibaya, so they know how to get people’s bodies moving to the beat and rhythm.

A wide range of Eastern and Western music was part of their play-list, not forgetting the ‘golden oldies’ that everyone still loves and did the trick of getting lovers onto the dance floor on Saturday night.

An unusual feature of the band is their 10-year-old lead guitarist who had everyone on their feet with his soloing skills. Taking the microphone, he told the crowd that his grandfather had inspired him to play. One of his guitar heroes is Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits, a virtuoso known for his soul-stirring playing. What could be better for tugging the heartstrings (young and old) on a night of romance! Indeed, the youngster left the crowd mesmerized.

Everyone loves a good meal too and the party-goers weren’t disappointed in this respect either, with exotic buffet meals on the menu to make mouths water with delight. Shakespeare said, “If music be the food of love, play on”, and indeed the night came to an end too quickly for most, who wanted the romance to carry on and on and on…