RAMFest

RAMFest
Genre Various alternative genres including metal, rock, punk, hardcore, drum and bass, electronica and many more
Dates Annually in February/March.
Location(s) Various cities in South Africa, namely Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth.
Years active 2007 - 2014[1][2]
Founded by Dawid Fourie[3][4]
Website
ramfest.co.za

RAMFest is a music festival that took place annually in several South African cities. RAMFest caters to all kinds of musical tastes and offers a mixture of both local and international acts spanning many genres. International performers have become more commonplace at RAMFests as a result of the following they have accrued.

Background

RAMFest was started by Dawid Fourie[4] in 2007 in Worcester, Western Cape, South Africa featuring 20 local talents.[1] Since then RAMFest has grown to see tens of thousands of fans attending in multiple South African cities[5] and is one of the largest music festivals in the country.[6] The "RAM" in RAMFest stands for Real Alternative Music according to Fourie,[4] thus making the full name of the festival the Real Alternative Music Festival.

Previous editions

  • 2007 – Twisted Playground (2 – 3 March) in Cape Town only.[1]
  • 2008 – Beyond Boundaries (29 February – 2 March) in Cape Town only.[7]
  • 2009 – Nekkies (27 February – 1 March) in Cape Town only.[8]
  • 2010 – The Real Alternative Music Festival (26–28 February; 6 March) in Cape Town and Johannesburg respectively.[9]
  • 2011 – RAMFest (4–5 March; 9 March; 12 March) in Cape Town,[10] Durban[11] and Johannesburg[12] respectively.
  • 2012 – A Day of Thunder (2 March; 3 March; 9 March; 10 March; 11 March) in Port Elizabeth,[13] Bloemfontein,[14] Durban,[15] Johannesburg[16] and Cape Town[17] respectively.
  • 2013 – Red Heart Rum presents: RAMFest (7–10 March; 8 March; 15 March; 15 March; 15–16 March) in Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Durban (again) and Johannesburg respectively. It is to be noted that the first Durban show was for electronic acts while the second was for rock and metal acts.[18]
  • 2014 - Red Heart Rum presents: RAMFest (6–9 March) in Cape Town and Johannesburg.[19]

Performers

Rise Against live in Johannesburg, South Africa as part of RAMFest 2013.
Taxi Violence live in Johannesburg, South Africa as part of RAMFest 2014.

The following table lists the notable artists that have performed at RAMFest.

Artist Year Performed References
Fokofpolisiekar 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012 [1][8][9][17][20]
Battery 9 2007, 2008, 2009 [1][7][8]
The Awakening 2007, 2008 [1][7]
aKING 2008, 2009 [7][8]
Die Antwoord 2009, 2011 [8][10]
Foto na Dans 2009 [8]
Van Coke Kartel 2009, 2011, 2013 [8][10][17]
Isochronous 2009, 2011 [8][10]
Pendulum 2010, 2013 [9][18][21]
Jack Parow 2010, 2013 [9][18]
The Narrow 2010, 2012 [9][17]
Mind Assault 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013 [1][7][8][9][10][18]
Boo! 2010 [9]
Johnny Foreigner 2010 [9]
Die Heuwels Fantasties 2010 [9]
Alkaline Trio 2011 [10][22]
Funeral for a Friend 2011 [10][22]
Zebra and Giraffe 2011 [10]
Awolnation 2012 [17][20]
In Flames 2012 [17][20][23]
Infected Mushroom 2012 [17][20][24]
Netsky 2012 [17][20]
BEAST 2013 [25]
Man As Machine 2013, 2014 [26][27]
Rise Against 2013 [18][21][28]
Bring Me The Horizon 2013 [21]
Taxi Violence 2014 [29]
Biffy Clyro 2014 [30]
Trivium 2014 [19]
Foals 2014 [30]
Killswitch Engage 2014 [19]
Camo & Krooked featuring Dynamite MC 2014 [19]

Controversies

In 2012, a chain mail was circulated, implying that RAMFest had a Satanic involvement. As a result, RAMFest had trouble organising another venue for the Bloemfontein leg of the fest[31] and it was cancelled there due to pressure from religious groups.[32]

In December 2012, the metalcore band As I Lay Dying pulled out from the RAMFest 2013 line-up due to being double booked to support The Devil Wears Prada on their tour.[33][34] The Devil Wears Prada's tour dates conflicted with RAMFest 2013's dates, making it impossible for As I Lay Dying to have performed at Ramfest 2013.[35]

During Bring Me The Horizon's set at the Johannesburg leg of the festival for 2013, tear gas was thrown into the crowd which caused fans to cough and tear up.[36]

RAMFest announced in a Facebook update that the 2015 edition of the festival was cancelled, citing the lack of suitable acts for the line up as the reason for its cancellation.[2]

Trivia

RAMFest organised an in-store signing session for the US Punk Rock band Rise Against while they were in Cape Town. The signing took place at a Musica store located at the V&A Waterfront.[37][38]

RAM Touring, the company behind RAMFest, organized shows in South Africa for Billy Talent,[39] Lamb of God.[40] and Asking Alexandria.[41]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Worcester, South Africa. "Ramfest 2007 | Ramfest 2007 Line-up and Posters". Songkick. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 http://boringcapetownchick.com/2014/12/ramfest-2015-cancelled/
  3. ↑ Therese Owen (20 February 2013). "Ready to go wild at raucous RAMfest – What's On | Tonight". IOL.co.za. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "Dawid Fourie, the man behind RAMfest!". SA Music Scene. 18 February 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  5. ↑ "Ramfest 2013". Ramfest.co.za. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  6. ↑ "RAMfest South Africa 2013". SA Music Scene. 21 January 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 "Ramfest 2008 | Ramfest 2008 Line-up and Posters". Songkick. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.7 8.8 "Ramfest 2009 | Ramfest 2009 Line-up and Posters". Songkick. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.8 "Ramfest 2010 | Ramfest 2010 Line-up and Posters". Songkick. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 "Ramfest 2011 | Ramfest 2011 Line-up and Posters". Songkick. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  11. ↑ Durban, South Africa (9 March 2011). "Ramfest 2011 | Ramfest 2011 Line-up and Posters". Songkick. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  12. ↑ Johannesburg, South Africa (12 March 2011). "Ramfest 2011 | Ramfest 2011 Line-up and Posters". Songkick. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  13. ↑ Port Elizabeth, South Africa (2 March 2012). "Ramfest 2012 | Ramfest 2012 Line-up and Posters". Songkick. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  14. ↑ Bloemfontein, South Africa (3 March 2012). "Ramfest 2012 | Ramfest 2012 Line-up and Posters". Songkick. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  15. ↑ Durban, South Africa (9 March 2012). "Ramfest 2012 | Ramfest 2012 Line-up and Posters". Songkick. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  16. ↑ Johannesburg, South Africa (10 March 2012). "Ramfest 2012 | Ramfest 2012 Line-up and Posters". Songkick. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  17. ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 17.6 17.7 Cape Town, South Africa (11 March 2012). "Ramfest 2012 | Ramfest 2012 Line-up and Posters". Songkick. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 18.4 "Ramfest 2013 line-up". Bizcommunity.com. 21 January 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 http://garycool.com/2013/09/recap-of-ramfest-2014-announcements/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=recap-of-ramfest-2014-announcements#4
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 "RAMfest 2012: Line-Ups and Details". MusicReview. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 Name *. "RAMfest 2013". LW Mag. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 "RAMfest Headliners: Alkaline Trio and Funeral For A Friend in South Africa". MusicReview. 17 January 2011. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  23. ↑ "In Flames To Play RAMfest 2012". MusicReview. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  24. ↑ "Infected Mushroom to Play RAMfest 2012". MusicReview. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  25. ↑ http://www.samusicscene.co.za/gt/?p=416
  26. ↑ http://www.perdeby.co.za/sections/entertainment/2769-56ramfest-2013-extremely-loud-and-incredibly-close
  27. ↑ http://www.ramfest.co.za/lineup/ramfest/johannesburg/2014
  28. ↑ Times LIVE (3 September 2012). "Rise Against to headline RAMfest 2013". Times LIVE. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
  29. ↑ http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/taxi-violence/2014/witfontein-bronkhorstspruit-south-africa-6bc28eb2.html
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 http://www.enca.com/life/ramfest-gives-rain-boot
  31. ↑ Burger, Karin (20 February 2012). "'Pray for satanic rock fest RAMfest'". Channel24. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
  32. ↑ Welsyn, Willim (27 November 2012). "RAMfest Cancels Bloem Because of Religious Pressure Groups – Rolling Stone South Africa". Rollingstone.co.za. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
  33. ↑ "As I Lay Dying PR Apology Re: Ramfest 13". Boring Cape Town Chick. 20 December 2012. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
  34. ↑ bravewords.com. "News - AS I LAY DYING Cancel Appearance at Next Year's RAMFest Due To Scheduling Conflict". Bravewords.com. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
  35. ↑ "The Devil Wears Prada + As I Lay Dying Join Forces for 2013 Marathon Metalcore Tour". Loudwire.com. 18 December 2012. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
  36. ↑ "RAMfest 2013: Report Card". Muse Online. 22 February 1999. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
  37. ↑ "Rise Against, In-Store Signing, Cape Town | Cape Town". Allevents.in. 12 March 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
  38. ↑ "Ramfest – Rise Against, In-Store Signing, Cape Town". Student Village. Retrieved 2013-03-19.
  39. ↑ http://cptstreetmag.com/musikology068.html
  40. ↑ http://metal4africa.com/news/lamb-of-god-to-play-south-africa-in-2014/
  41. ↑ http://ramfest.co.za/ramtouring/2014/05/johannesburg/asking-alexandria