With the National Arts Festival finally here, Grahamstown is set for a solid 10 days of non-stop jamming, as scores of musicians get ready to hit the town.
With the National Arts Festival finally here, Grahamstown is set for a solid 10 days of non-stop jamming, as scores of musicians get ready to hit the town.
Among these visitors are Classic Blues and country duo, Luna Paige and Gerald Clark. It's their first collaborative performance in Grahamstown and they told Grocott’s Mail in an interview via email that they are excited about the opportunity. “It’s always a great vibe and we love the all-round diversity of the Festival,” says Paige.
The two have been a highlight at festivals including the Klein Karoo Kunstefees (KKNK). Paige and Clarke will be accompanied on stage by Schalk Joubert (bass), Kevin Gibson (drums), Anjulie Knock (cello) and Piet Joubert (violin), whom Clark describes as a group of “incredible artists and well respected session musos in the Western Cape.”
The duo are Afrikaans, but they will perform mostly in English: “We have performed mostly at Afrikaans-dominated arts and other festivals due to the circles we move in. But Grahamstown feels like the right place,” says Paige, “and its audience feels like the right audience to target.”
However, Clark says he'll perform some of his Afrikaans songs if requested by the audience and Paige will perform her Storielied, which she describes as being Afrikaans lyrics over English music. His acoustic Afrikaans album Sweepslag (Whiplash) was nominated as the best Alternative Music Album Afrikaans at the 2009 SAMA awards.
He has also been an MK best video winner and received a nomination for an international animation award with the music video Blackwater. Their accolades combined with the duo's experience means Festinos can look forward to some quality music with a variety of influences, including everything from what they describe as Cape/Riel and Bushman Vibes to Reggae and Rock.
Their various albums will be available for sale at their shows.
To win tickets to Paige and Clark's performance visit Grahamstown NOW and enter under win stuff.
