Considering that our pockets won’t be that loaded for holidays this festive season, the SA Tourism and Sho’t Left media trip to the Gagasi FM Beach Festival in Durban was well received.
Unfortunately, the event was not as we expected and left some disappointed.
Despite hosting some of the country’s most celebrated musicians, the organisational planning by Gagasi FM for the sold-out event was poor.
Last Saturday morning we were good to go, but were told the event was overbooked, meaning we the guests they brought from Johannesburg could only get general access to the festival – with limited access.
Well, some felt that considering Cassper Nyovest’s highly anticipated #FillUpMosesMabhida was taking place on the same day, perhaps we should rather go there.
But after waiting for few a hours we were shipped to the beach festival, where we waited outside with a large irritated crowd that was also experiencing ticketing issues.
We were then promised VIP access so that we could interview performers AKA, Sjava, Babes Wodumo and DJ Tira, among others.
After about 30 minutes, we were told we could go through and for once the luck of the king was on our side because the rain started pouring and we could seek shelter inside the marquee.
The crowd outside used their camp chairs as umbrellas and others sought shelter close to the stage.
As the rain slowly tapered off, it was the electrifying performance by Riky Rick – which has since gone viral – that was the highlight of the evening.
Throughout the weekend, social media was set alight with videos of the rapper performing Sidlukotini and I Can’t Believe It (Macoins), and removing his clothes out of excitement.
There he was, on stage, jumping around in his underwear like a wrestler while the crowd went berserk.
Unfortunately, AKA had to perform with poor sound. It was so bad that one could not even hear him in the distance.
Sadly, Sjava didn’t finish his performance after his mic was cut off for some reason.
Though the badly produced festival was a big disappointment, the activities that SA Tourism and Sho’t Left arranged made up for it – including a visit to the iconic Moses Mabhida Stadium to learn how to ride a Segway, followed by a ride down the street to North Beach, and a visit to the beautiful Valley of a Thousand Hills in Hillcrest, where the lovely scenery was perfect for watching the sunset.