Festival will feature over 60 performances in the Cape Town CBD area.

Cape Town’s CBD will be host to a flurry of sounds come end of the month when the first Sounds Fringe Festival kicks off. With more than 60 performances over the course of Thursday 27 March to Sunday 30 March, and with all the venues within walking distance, be sure not to miss this epic event.

There will be performances by Farryl Purkiss, The Rudimentals, Al Bairre, Tete Mbambisa, Spencer Mbadu, Alvin Dyers, Errol Dyers, Adamu, Dan Shout, Gerald Clark, Beatenberg, Sterling EQ, Saudiq Khan, Blackie Tempi, Touchwood – the list goes on.

Norwegian trumpeter Arne Hiorth, already a familiar face in Cape Town because of his work with developing musicians, will take to the stage with his 100-strong choir to perform their “Song of Freedom” during the festival.

The venues so far confirmed are Mandela Rhodes Place, The Twankey Bar, The Reserve at The Taj, Motherland Coffee Company, The Crypt Jazz Restaurant, the Iziko Slave Lodge, and Inn on the Square.

Cape Town property developer Frank Gormley conceived the idea of the Sounds Fringe Festival after considering what fringe events overseas have done for individual cities. With the aid of Rainbow Academy CEO Denay Willie and jazz trumpeter Vaughan Fransch, the festival aims to showcase Cape Town as a city of musical talent.

“The Sounds Fringe Festival offers additional entertainment for visitors who may be attending another major event in the city,” Denay Willie told Rolling Stone, “but more importantly, it is a new platform for developing and established performers. Over time, this can have a huge impact on our economy and it is intended to create further fringe festivals around all the major established events in the city. The fringe is a new event and with the rejuvenation of the central business district it is fitting to celebrate with music and bring people back into our vibrant city.”

The goal is to promote South African cultural and indigenous music, arts and culture, so whether your palette varies from Afro-pop to indie rock, township jazz to folk, or acoustic guitar to Latin, the Sounds Fringe Festival aims to satisfy it all.

Worldwide, fringe festivals have been operating collaboratively with major arts events in order to provide young and established artists with a different context in which to express themselves. In this way, audiences are supplied with a cost-effective manner of enjoying cultural events.

Undiscovered talent will also have their chance to wow crowds. Auditions to perform at the festival will be held at The Crypt Jazz Restaurant on 19 and 20 March. Bookings are essential.