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| Sons of Settlers |
Sons of Settlers is an engaging alliance of members from the
dormant bands New Holland (Gerdus Oosthuizen – lead vocals and guitar for Sons
of Settlers) and Foto Na Dans (Le-Roi Nel – backing vocals and guitar).
They have just returned from a very successful
promotional tour of Germany and Switzerland where they performed for
three-months. As true-to-the core musicians, they loved being able to perform
every day while on tour.
“In Berlin you
can play music on the street and make enough money to pay rent and buy food.
There is a culture of really valuing and supporting the arts and the result is
that some of the best artists in the world from all fields are drawn to
Berlin,” says Gerdus. During their journey they met Riders Connection who
showed them warm-hearted hospitality and with whom they shared adventures.
“We felt that when we first met Sons of
Settlers that there were no borders between our souls and also felt at home in
each other’s hearts. It’s a special feeling that can’t really be put into words.”
Riders
Connection are coming to South Africa to join Sons of Settlers for The
Playing for Change Tour in December and Sons of Settlers hopes to return the
favour by showing them our famed South African hospitality. Le-Roi says that
“Riders Connection have honed their skills as entertainers on the streets of
Berlin.
They have a gripping presence on
stage that cannot be conveyed through any recording.When you witness in person
what they do when they perform, you will be drawn in before you know it.” Together
they plan to perform all the way up the East Coast, hoping to move audiences
with their respective unique styles of music.
Gerdus says that “in Europe there is a culture of showing appreciation
for art through donations, i.e. throwing change into a hat.
We are going to test out how this concept
fairs in South Africa by also sending a donation hat around during shows.”
“This is an extreme DIY effort, we have pulled in all our favours and resources
and we put together our own sound system and our own lighting rig, this enables
us to play smaller venues one would not normally play and also enables us to go
and play to people who would otherwise not be in a position to hear our music,”
Le-Roi continues to say.
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| Riders Connection |
The Playing for
Change outreach initiative
The Playing for Change Tour plans to share the gift of music
in their social outreach programme.
Their first stop with this initiative will be the Zisukhanyo Secondary
School in Philippi on November 30th.
Sons of Settler’s performance will form part of the SAEP‘s (South
African Education Programme) Arts Programme to inspire children to follow their
dreams in music industry. “Our intention is to go and share our music to people
who would otherwise not be able to access live music. Any leads and opportunities
for this would be heartily welcomed. We are looking to play to the
underprivileged children, elderly, homeless and incarcerated of our country,
says Gerdus.”
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