Woodstock 2002 draws the crowds despite apathetic media

Who wouldn't grab an opportunity like that? The setting was beautiful in the Aventura Kloof in Heidelberg and the bands were great with Sunways, Perez, Martin Rocka and the Sick Shop and Ian Henderson (little known outside of Durban) amongst my particular faves.

Two gripes about the event soiled it somewhat. Firstly, the fact that SAB had a monopoly on booze sold. Personally I like Black Label but also appreciate Windhoek lager. Some others that I chatted to agreed with my feeling and there definitely should have been a plan made for Namibian Breweries to put in an appearance.

The second gripe concerns the loo facilities. When will it occur to some designer or architect that women need more facilities than guys?

It is a simple fact of life and does not need a rocket scientist to figure out. This is not a unique situation as restaurants, bars and other festival events also do not provide decent back up for the ladies.

These two moans should not detract from a superb piece of organisation by Authentic Ideas. Getting all the bands there and drawing a crowd of 15000 plus was well done and as far as I know there were no serious incidents or injuries.

Products that made a name at the festival included Olmeca Tequila, Jameson Irish Whiskey, Blunt magazine (they ran the alternative punk stage), Red Bull (involved with skateboarding and skating) and Musica (who benefited from increased traffic to their shops as they were selling Woodstock tickets and they also ran the merchandise store at the festival).

Merchandise was very popular and besides T-shirts and cd's there were also beanies and stickers. Radio 5 were there in full force and also broadcast some shows from the festival with Barney Simon once again introducing bands and showing why he is such a cult figure amongst hard-core SA musos.

Woodstock as a brand in SA has become synonymous with SA music (there was a US band but they bombed badly with the patriotic crowd) and a festival way of life for the late teens and twenty somethings. This is in no small way due to Authentic Ideas who put the idea together four years ago and have watched it grow each year.

Bands from Cape Town, Durban and Joburg engaged in light-hearted rivalry but the essence of this festival was a celebration of SA bands and music culture.

The festival is starting to become one of those 'I was there occasions' and those who weren't missed out big time.

Beth Hillary, Project Manager at Authentic Ideas, said, "Although we are still looking for a titled main sponsor, this year proved once again that there are people in SA that dig SA music."

"On our list of sponsors, there are some that have been with us since year one. Musica, Smint, Jameson and Red Bull have stuck with us and proved their commitment to SA music."

Hillary went on to say that there are as many as 15 charities that trade at the festival and Jameson have donated the couches from their VIP lounge to various charity organizations.

Sponsorship and marketing are both two-way streets in the sense that any sponsor wants media coverage and publicity. The SA media were conspicuous by their absence and one has to question the priorities in news coverage especially the dailies.

The Sunday Independent ran an article on October 6, but the rest patently ignored one of the biggest music festivals in this country.

There was one tiny example of a product utilizing a captive crowd to test drive their taste. Mrs H.S.BALL'S chilli chutney was available for tasting with chicken or meatballs and this writer was astounded with the lack of any other product testing.

Most South Africans like to support international bands rather than home-grown talent. Many have never bothered to listen to some local acts or if they do will say something along the lines of: "not bad for South Africans".

Authentic Ideas are playing a large role in building a generation of people that appreciate South African musos whether they be rock, punk, hip hop or a mish mash of genres.