Local is lekker, indeed.

It really is an exciting time for South African music. New talents are emerging on what seems like a daily basis, the airwaves are constantly carrying catchy local tunes and music is fast becoming one of our largest exports.

This fact was exemplified at a concert held on Saturday 5 September at the Grand West Arena in Cape Town. Displaying the best of what South Africa has to offer in the form of Flat Stanley, Just Jinjer and aKING, the concert was not to be missed. .

In effect the concert was a celebration of all things local, for both the fans and the performers. With most bands having been on recent tours overseas, this served as a valuable opportunity to reconnect with South African audience. It also allowed the people of our beautiful country to show their appreciation to bands who have changed the face of South African music.

Successful rock band, and the brains behind the event, Flat Stanley, was first to grace the stage. Flat Stanley hit the South African music scene in 2004, quickly winning over South African audiences with their unique blend of rock and classical music. Of late, however, the band has also accumulated a large following beyond the borders of their homeland. Most recently, Flat Stanley travelled to Germany where members Andrew Mac, Clinton and Neil played in venues packed to the rafters with new European fans. Their second album, “Between 2wo Worlds” is breaking ground both here and abroad, and the band seems to have no intention of slowing down.

Aside from their musical talents, the members of Flat Stanley have an extremely humble stage presence. This was most noticeable during the seemingly insignificant moments during their performance – every time Mac expressed his gratitude to the South African audience; when the band members smiled quietly to themselves during a piece of music they enjoyed; and finally, the heartfelt dedication of their song, “Anthem for the Living” to the late Herman Pretorius, presenter on DSTV channel MK89. All in all Flat Stanley delivered a solid show. The set was well structured and well performed, with the band even managing to squeeze in Snow Patrol’s “Chasing Cars” for good measure. This coupled with the inclusion of cellist Robert Jeffrey and percussionist Tony Paco on most of their songs, made for an entertaining hour.

The critically acclaimed and highly talented musicians, Ard Matthews, Brent Harris and Denholm Harding, better known as Just Jinjer, were next in the line up. Rated as the number one rock band in South African history, it was evident that most in the crowd were waiting in anticipation for their performance. Together for over ten years, Just Jinjer has entertained and inspired audiences, both at home and abroad, with their positive lyrics and insightful social commentary. Their music has raised the bar and challenged the status quo of the music world. Having conquered the South African market and with the release of their latest album, “Can I have More”, the band has managed to break through the iron curtain that is the US music industry. Record deal in hand, Just Jinjer has been flying the South African flag high, and the soothing tones of Matthews’ voice are hitting radio waves all over America.

Undoubtedly a crowd favourite, Just Jinjer proved exactly why they are rated number one. From the first few notes played on the bass guitars, the audience was enthralled. The performers have an abundance of positive energy which flowed off the stage and resonated within every member of crowd. Paying constant thanks to their South African fans, one could not help but feel appreciated by a band making waves all over the world. Their set was superbly structured, with several highlights interspersed among the songs. Midway through their performance, the band members dropped their instruments, picked up drum sticks and proceeded to drum on the nearest surfaces they could find – mike stand included. The finale was a climax of note. Singing one of their biggest hits, “What He Means”, Just Jinjer invited all the other bands onto the stage to sing the final chords of the song together. If one had any doubt of how enjoyable and exciting their performance was, one only needs to remember the shouts for an encore long after the band had left the stage.

The final act of the night was the relatively new, up-and-coming pop-rock band, aKING. Although most of the members of the band have been active in the music industry for quite some time, aKING only released their first album together in 2008. Capetonians Laudo Liebenberg, Hunter Kennedy, Hennie Van Halen and Jaco ‘Snake’ Venter have garnered great support, radio airtime and rave reviews in a relatively short period of time. With their second album, “Against All Odds” having been released this year, the band is touring South Africa and playing to packed houses in all corners of the country.

It goes without saying that aKING was faced with a mammoth task: performing directly after Just Jinjer. I must admit I was slightly perplexed by the order in which the bands performed on the night, but kept an open mind none the less. Unfortunately, my reservations were confirmed soon into their performance. Playing their most popular songs such as, “The Dance” and “Against All Odds” in the middle of their set, the band managed to energise the crowd, only to leave them disappointed by the anticlimax which was to follow. The band’s attitude was also somewhat lacklustre, showing little interest in the fans who had paid good money to watch them play. aKING is a good band that will undoubtedly achieve great success, but their performance on the night, however, did not adequately represent the talent that they posses.

This was a great event, of which I sincerely hope there will be more. While the performing order of the bands was problematic, this did not detract from the fact that both the quality of local bands, as well as the support for local music is increasing, slowly but surely.