The Brothers are a Port Elizabeth-based ‘skafrican’ band whose style ranges across genres and whose topics are close to the heart and home.
The Brothers are a Port Elizabeth-based ‘skafrican’ band whose style ranges across genres and whose topics are close to the heart and home.
Etienne Verster, one of two lead vocalists, is also the owner of Ibis Engineering.
Despite the fact that the band members all have day jobs, they have been playing together in various incarnations for the past 10 years.
Political, personal and without pretension, The Brothers play reggae, rock and ‘ska’, singing about race, their influences and freedom of speech.
“It‘s good to sing about politics,” Verster said.
Their lyrics are fun, sometimes frivolous, sometimes serious, and speak about what it truly is to be South African.
The band used to do covers, but grew bored of that and developed what Verster calls their ‘skafrican’ vibe, a blend of reggae, blues, rock and ska.
Based in PE, the Verster believes that although people learn to dislike the places they come from, they always go home.
“It’s nice to grow your kids up in PE,” Verster said.
He and Joe van der Linden have both returned to the windy city after years living abroad and in Cape Town and Johannesburg.
Their show is electric and entertaining, the music is easy to dance to and the crowd usually sings along even if they’re only seeing the band for the first time.
The antics of the vocalists are worth the show on their own and the band are friendly and engaging with the audience.
The Brothers will be performing tonight at 6.30pm and at tomorrow at 4.30pm in the Smirnoff Music Room.
