Splashy Fen virtual music fest breaks boundaries

WHILE disappointed music fans had to stay at home instead of partying up a storm at the 31st Splashy Fen festival, 600 000 stremas tuned in for Africa’s first ever virual music festival, Lockdown Live with Splashy Fen.

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Hosted by Splashy Fen’s Festival Director Stu Berry, the 3-day virtual music and lifestyle festival took place over the Easter weekend.

Fans tuned in to watch intimate live sets with artists such as Goldfish, Juzzie Smith, Hot Water, Gary Nixon, Mbijana Sibisi, Goodluck, FREEDY-L, Veranda Panda, The Pierce Brothers and more.

Fans also got to hear from the makers of the music with one-on-one chat sessions. Yoga, fitness, craft and cooking classes also provided ample entertainment for families each day from 9 am.

The virtual festival received over 125 000 streams from the Splashy Fen Facebook page and more than 540 000 streams via YouTube; bringing the total amount to 667 317 over the 3-day period.

Kimberly Muller streamed the festival from their residence in London with her husband Gray.

“It’s been quite a challenge getting used to living in such confinement here in our small apartment, with very little freedom or space to move about for over a month. So when we heard Splashy Fen was doing a music session, it gave us something to look forward to and saved us, mentally! We had such a blast listening and watching all the artists with their kids and pets and families in their homes. It kept our spirits up, in a time when we should have been surrounded by family, but obviously couldn’t be.”

Splashy Fen has always prided itself on its ability to create a family-centric offering which goes beyond what the fans experience.

Included in this family are the people from the music industry who have all been put under huge financial strain over the last few weeks with events being cancelled for the foreseeable future. The funds raised from caring fans who donated at the Lockdown LIVE will be used to bring comfort and hope to these people.

Similarly, the Splashy Cares Program managed to raise over R35 000 from the sale of Splashy Hand Sanitisers and has used this money to purchase food vouchers for freelance workers from KZN companies who have closed down.

“I can’t find the words to express my gratitude” was one of the many heartfelt messages from a recipient of the funds. “I was starving. Life has been hard on us. This has come at a time when I really didn’t know what to do next. God bless you and stay safe.”

“We are absolutely thrilled with how this all turned out,” says Stu Berry. “When we first came up with the idea, we had simple plans to just start a live video on Facebook. But thanks to the efforts and expertise of our team and the guys at Icily Productions, we were able to create a quality offering for our fans that translated far beyond what we had hoped for. We’re so grateful to our fans for tuning in and for really highlighting the Splashy sense of community that we have worked hard to develop. What’s very clear from all of this, is that music binds us. It brings people of all ages, races and cultures together. And we need that now, more than ever!”

The Splashy Fen Music Festival has moved to September and the new festival dates are as follows: 23rd of September to 27th of September 2020.

Tickets are still available via www.splashyfen.co.za

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