Donlu Music Festival – for us, by us
06 March 2020 | Art and Entertainment
MICHAEL KAYUNDE
The first instalment of the Donlu Music Festival is slated for Saturday, 29 August, at Windhoek’s Trusto United Sports Field, with a strictly Namibian line-up.
In an interview with tjil, Donlu Music Africa’s founder Llewelyn Adams shared that the idea stemmed from not seeing Namibian line-ups at festivals. “We decided that since we have created the website as a platform for Namibian artists, and now Angolan artists too, to sell their music or offer it as free downloads, why not create another platform where they can express and showcase their art even further?” Adams said.
Since the news about the festival broke, the engagement and interest from the music community has been pretty loud, especially from artists and their fans. Everyone wants to be on the line-up. Asked what some of the criteria the organisers are looking at when compiling the list of acts, Adams said they give preference to artists whose music is available on the Donlu Africa website. “But we decided to also invite some of those whose music is not available on our platform.”
The first phase of tickets for the festival has already gone on sale and Adams said that while the response was slow at first, sales have picked up a lot.
It is for this reason, he shared, they are looking forward to the next phase of ticket sales, due to start in April. “We want artists who will be involved to look back and be able to proudly say that they have contributed to the setting up of the music hub, which is why the festival is being hosted,” said Adams.
On opportunities being created through this initiative, Adams shared that the event could always do with an extra pair of hands, thus the organisers welcome any sort of volunteering. “There’ll be a host of activities leading up to the festival including shows at different venues and so on, so anybody who wants to get involved is more than welcome to reach out to us,” he said.
He highlighted difficulties to secure sponsorships as one of the challenges the organisers are facing to put this event together, but added that getting artists on board has proven to be fairly easy. “We would like to encourage people to wait and see what we have planned as we want them to experience something they have never experienced in Namibia when it comes to music festivals,” Adams said.
The first instalment of the Donlu Music Festival is slated for Saturday, 29 August, at Windhoek’s Trusto United Sports Field, with a strictly Namibian line-up.
In an interview with tjil, Donlu Music Africa’s founder Llewelyn Adams shared that the idea stemmed from not seeing Namibian line-ups at festivals. “We decided that since we have created the website as a platform for Namibian artists, and now Angolan artists too, to sell their music or offer it as free downloads, why not create another platform where they can express and showcase their art even further?” Adams said.
Since the news about the festival broke, the engagement and interest from the music community has been pretty loud, especially from artists and their fans. Everyone wants to be on the line-up. Asked what some of the criteria the organisers are looking at when compiling the list of acts, Adams said they give preference to artists whose music is available on the Donlu Africa website. “But we decided to also invite some of those whose music is not available on our platform.”
The first phase of tickets for the festival has already gone on sale and Adams said that while the response was slow at first, sales have picked up a lot.
It is for this reason, he shared, they are looking forward to the next phase of ticket sales, due to start in April. “We want artists who will be involved to look back and be able to proudly say that they have contributed to the setting up of the music hub, which is why the festival is being hosted,” said Adams.
On opportunities being created through this initiative, Adams shared that the event could always do with an extra pair of hands, thus the organisers welcome any sort of volunteering. “There’ll be a host of activities leading up to the festival including shows at different venues and so on, so anybody who wants to get involved is more than welcome to reach out to us,” he said.
He highlighted difficulties to secure sponsorships as one of the challenges the organisers are facing to put this event together, but added that getting artists on board has proven to be fairly easy. “We would like to encourage people to wait and see what we have planned as we want them to experience something they have never experienced in Namibia when it comes to music festivals,” Adams said.
Classifieds