Ramfest: Mud and music
BRONKHORSTSPRUIT- Mud and music were the main focus for Ramfest festival goers in Witfontein this year.
Ramfest was launched in 2007 as an alternative music festival for South Africans. Their festivals are held annually in March, and are hosted on farms in Johannesburg and Cape Town with large spaces for camp sites.
RAMTouring, in association with Hilltop Live, organised a great line up for music lovers who attended this year’s festival.
English indie rock outfit Foals and Scottish rock band Biffy Clyro played to diverse audiences on the opening Friday night. While many festival goers waited for the next round of international acts on the Saturday evening, Ramfest offered a selection of rock, alternative and punk on the Monster Stage and electronic music on the Olmeca Stage. The Stellenbrau Carnival Stage set the tone for comedy and experimental music.
Festival goer Ruth Rom said, “I thought Foals were fantastic. The sound and production was impressive, but overall, the festival felt under-lit and average,” said Rom.
American metal bands Killswitch Engage and Trivium kept the energy high on Saturday night and attracted large crowds to their shows.
Tilana Jooste thought the best acts of the festival were Biffy Clyro and Killswitch Engage.
“They blew my mind,” said Jooste.
“Not even the rain could spoil our fun,” she added.
DJ Polygamy, who performed at the festival said, “One of the best parts about the evolution of Ramfest has been the expansion of its outlook; it is not just a metal fest anymore, although metal is a big player in the progression of Ramfest.”
“This meant that I could open the stage with some really chilled electronic music which may have not been the case at previous instalments of the festival.”
The DJ added, “Finally, almost cosmically, the radius around the festival site somehow managed to miss out on much of the brunt of the storm, with two ominous dark cloud gatherings passing by through both sides of the festival area. So my experience was hardly affected by the storm and it is easier to deal with wet soil on your jeans than it is to deal with dust particles up your nostrils.”
