Cape Town concert for Haiti victims

Spearheaded by radio presenter Doug Anderson, musician Lionel Bastos, and Madelaine Steyn, the MAD 4 Haiti concert will feature a selection of the country's premier artists in a bid to raise funds for the devastated Caribbean nation, which is still reeling from the 12 January earthquake that killed an estimated 230 000 people. Explained Anderson: “It started off as a Facebook status update: ‘I want to put on a benefit concert for the Haiti victims - anyone interested in helping out?' This was as a result of seeing the visuals coming out of Haiti, shortly after the earthquake.”

Started on Facebook

It took only a few seconds for friends to start commenting. The first friend on board was singer/songwriter/producer Lionel Bastos who, in turn, posted the same status update on his Facebook page - and so MAD (Making A Difference) 4 Haiti was born. Madelaine Steyn created the MAD 4 Haiti Facebook fan page. Since then, a number of well-known South African musicians have volunteered to perform at the benefit concert at the Baxter, which has generously donated the venue free of charge. They include: Ross Learmonth [Prime Circle], Farryl Purkiss, Simon van Gend, Jack Mantis, Gary Thomas, Tina Schouw, Ian Henderson, Claire Phillips, Gavin Minter, Wendy Oldfield, Mark Fransman, Amanda Tiffin, Lionel Bastos, Merseystate, Flat Stanley and Paul Abro.

Making an album

The organisers are also making available an album of songs donated by various artists around the country for the MAD 4 Haiti fund, which can be downloaded from www.rhythmmusicstore.com, and a CD may be in the works as well, if a label comes on board. Members of the public who would like to contribute to the disaster-relief effort in Haiti, while experiencing some of SA's premier music acts performing under one roof, are urged to head along to the Baxter and rock on down for a good cause. Your small act of compassion may make a huge difference in the lives of many Haitian people.

The Cape Town concert takes place at the Baxter on Wednesday, 12 May at 7.30pm. Tickets cost R100 to R120 via Computicket and all proceeds from the concert will be paid into a trust administered by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants SA.

Join the Facebook fan page - MAD 4 Haiti - for updates.