My 2 cents on the 2nd Nokia Rise & Shine Festival for 2014

Early on Saturday morning, Bunny and I made our way to the 2nd edition of Nokia Rise & Shine Festival for 2014 at Sandton Central Park. We took the Gautrain, so the trip to Johannesburg from Pretoria was over before we could say the phrase “Ice Bucket Challenge”.

Here’s My 2 cents on the 2nd Nokia Rise & Shine Festival for 2014

We arrived at the venue before 10 AM and were very pleased to find the Black Bean Coffee stand selling some really tasty cappuccinos. Matthew Mole started his set as we were sipping our hot beverages and set the mood for a day choc-a-bloc full of awesome tunes and beer and wine induced awesomeness.

Float Parade were up next and offered “Rise & Shiners” (a phrase coined by Jamie Acheson at some stage over the last year or so) a good dose of jazzy goodness to brighten up their Saturdays. In retrospect I have to admit that I did not expect it to be as cool it was and I hope I have the opportunity to see this act live sometime soon.

Nakhane Toure entertained the crowd next with his unique blend of Soul / Alternative. At this point the beer and wine started flowing and a steady rush of festival goers started populating the grass of Sandton Central Park and enjoying the glorious sunny day that the music gods had bestowed on them.

Next up were Al Bairre and before they could even start playing their cover version of Cape Town based act they seem to amp up their live performance levels.

Next Zebra and Giraffe played their first set ever at a Rise & Shine Festival and amazed music lovers with songs like “End of The Road”, “Oxymoron” and “The Knife”. This band recently celebrated their 6th year in the SA Music industry and one could definitely sense how awesome they’ve become over the last few years.

Runaway Train Cult (a band that I missed at Oppikoppi this year) were up next, transforming the crowd into a country-loving hillbilly bunch of dancing pixies the second the old guy on stage struck the first cord on his banjo. I have to admit that it became too much after a while for me, but the “Rise and Shiners” definitely enjoyed their set.

The last act that I caught on the day were Shortstraw. These kings of the SA Indie scene had the crowd singing along to tracks like “Bikini Weather” in no time and were the perfect act to end one of the coolest gigs on the Jozi Music Calendar.

I really hope the organizers have another Rise & Shine festival up their sleeves before the end of 2014. This one day festival has truly become of the must-go-to events on the Jozi calendar. The beer is always cold, the portapottis are always clean and the vibe is always amazing. You can view more photos that I took at the event on the Henno Kruger Photography and Running Wolf’s Rant pages on Facebook.

Were you there on Saturday? How was it for you? Leave a comment and let me know. Feedback is appreciated and welcome here. If you’ve enjoyed reading about this event and viewing my photos, feel free to share this article with your friends on Facebook and Twitter. Remember: Sharing is Caring.

Watch this space for regular updates in the Music category on Running Wolf’s Rant.

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