There’ll be Nude Girls at a picnic at the Voortrekker Monument
|||Helen Herimbi
The popular Park Acoustics event turns six years old this year. The concert has been taking place in Pretoria on one Sunday of the month. On May 22, families can set up a picnic and enjoy the sounds of Springbok Nude Girls, Grassy Spark, The Moths, Rambling Bones, Moejoe, Jack Mantis and Andre Geldenhuys.
The event started as the brainchild of brothers, Henk and Willem van der Schyf, and their friend, Neil Groenewald. But before the first Park Acoustics in 2010, the brothers used to host parties through their Hotbox Studios.
As Henk explained: “We had a recording studio called Hotbox Studios. On the face of it, it looked really successful because it was young and a lot of cool people hung out. It wasn’t a very sustainable business since we ran it out of the back of our grandmother’s house.
“Then we met our partner, Neil, in 2010 and both parties had the same idea. He had just come back from studying in Cape Town and we all felt like we needed some more activities for families and young people, any person actually.”
So Park Acoustics was born at the Pretoria Botanical Gardens. But it didn’t stay there for long. On moving the event to the Voortrekker Monument, Van der Schyf says: “Things just didn’t work out at the Botanical Gardens. Logistically and financially, it didn’t make sense at the time.
“The Voortrekker Monument came up as a possibility.
“People have their own opinions about the significance of the Voortrekker Monument, but we’re young South Africans and came in with a new mindset of having a picnic and uniting people of all backgrounds and, to be honest, it’s actually been quite a great relationship that we have built with the Monument.
“We’re trying to expose everyone to everything from Afro-jazz to rock music, to blues music and pop music.”
I ask the organiser, whose team has added a stand-up comedy line-up to the entertainment, who their dream act is. He says: “Last year we managed to secure Goldfish, who we’ve been wanting for ever. But if I had to choose, I’d say Hugh Masekela. Bra Hugh’s the ultimate legend.”
While an attempt to give Cape Town its own Park Acoustics failed due to location problems, Van der Schyf is satisfied with the progress that the event has made.
He shares: “We’re quite happy with Park Acoustics for what it is now. And that’s a great monthly concert for local Pretoria and Joburg people to come visit. For friends and families to get together and have a great time.
“We have other businesses and projects that are possible to expand.”
Park Acoustics can accommodate 2 000 people and regularly reaches capacity, so buy your tickets early.
Park Acoustics’ sixth birthday party, Voortrekker Monument, Pretoria, May 22. R150 at parkacoustics.co.za or at the gate.