With Women’s Day being observed on Monday, Oppikoppi 2015 ended on a Sunday, which I must confess felt a little weird as festival Sundays are usually used to recover from the weekend’s biggest acts the night before.
Friday and Saturday had been intense but with its stellar line-up which included international headliners Gogol Bordello, Brand New and Twin Atlantic, Sunday truly was the big one. Here’s a look at what went down…
As mildly traumatic as it is waking up in 5 layers of clothes in a state of humid confusion surrounded by a tent and the nonsensical conversations of your neighbours outside, there’s something reassuring about the situation: you know you could only be at a music festival, you somehow managed to get some sleep and that the sun is now up and it’s time you were too.
My Saturday at Oppikoppi went a little like this…
Now in its 21st year, Oppikoppi is legendary among South African music festivals. Its status and distance from Cape Town have always intimidated the hell out of me but attending has always been something I’d hoped to do; this year I got my chance, and it really was everything everyone said it would be, and more.
Here are some shots from Friday/our first day at the festival.
It was freezing outside on Wednesday night – luckily the queue outside GrandWest, though very long, was moving pretty swiftly. Inside it was equally full – it was still early Cape Town had shown up in its masses for Ben Howard.
On a frosty morning last last month I met the guys from Infanteria in the forest for a press shoot ahead of their album launch. It was a little hilarious trying to go for the serious metal vibe with the legions of dogwalkers and dayglow runners around, and the whole shoot was loads of fun; it was a really enjoyable morning.
Here are a few shots.
