Oppikoppi

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Oppikoppi from the top

Oppikoppi is the name of a music festival held in the North West Province of South Africa, near the mining town of Northam. The festival started off focussing on rock music, but gradually added more genres and now plays host to a complete mixed bag of genres. Anything from jazz, world music, kwaito, acoustic, comedy and all else in between can be heard on one of the multiple stages. Each year in August thousands of people flock to the farm to camp out in the bush and listen to South African music. The name Oppikoppi comes from the Afrikaans words "Op Die Koppie", which literally means "On the Hill". The camping area is at the foot of a hill, on top of which is a bar and small stage.

The festival started in 1994 with 27 local talents performing to a small crowd of enthusiasts. It has since grown substantially with the addition of many new stages and thousands of people turning up each year. The festival is regarded by some as the primary influence on jump starting the South African rock music movement in the late 90's.

The festival hosts a wide array of acts with artists being booked from genres such as: rock, hip-hop, hardcore, punk, ska, folk, blues, drum ‘n bass, big beats, funk, kwaito, jazz, traditional, world music and other genres.

In addition to the annual festival in August of evey year, the festival also hosts a smaller, more intimate gathering on each Easter weekend in April.

According to their organizers they have "rolled bakkies, burnt tents, driven over knees, slept in jails, slept outside jails and turned over several stones to make gigs and festivals work."