LOCAL ARTISTS PAY TRIBUTE TO JACKSON
Cape Town radio station Heart 104.9FM in association with GrandWest Casino and Sony together with eight local icons will be hosting a memorial concert to pay tribute to the life of Michael Jackson on Wednesday, 1 July 2009 at the GrandWest Market Hall. The concert is in answer to the many local Jackson fans in search of a place where they can gather to mourn their loss. Around the globe fans searched for locations where they can gather to grieve loss of their icon. Over the past couple of days the Jackson family home, the hospital where he died and even the old home where they Jackson Five originated from, were all turned into shrines, packed with thousands of mourning fans. The Michael Jackson memorial concert will give Capetonians an opportunity to mourn the loss of the music legend and to say their goodbyes.
The proceedings commences at 1pm with a memorial where fans will be able to write their message of condolences in a book, which will be delivered to the Jackson family later in the week. The tribute concert will start at 7pm with local music icons the likes of The Rockets, Karin Kortje, Celeste Williams, Alistair Izobell, Claire Philips and many more paying tributes to the man who undoubtedly inspired them all. “Michael has been an inspiration to all of us, not only as an artist, but also lyrically,” says Alistair Izobell. He continues, “his vision and music has embraced us all and it is a privilege for all of the artists that will share the stage on Wednesday evening to celebrate his legacy and his music that has now become immortal.”
“Michael Jackson was unquestionably the biggest pop star of the 1980s, and certainly one of the most popular recording artists of all time. His Music changed the way we danced and his death rocked our worlds,” says Gavin Meiring, Station Manager at Heart 104.9FM. “We cannot simply move on without paying tribute to this man as he changed, and liberated the face of music as we know it. We truly believe that this will be a great opportunity for the public to be able to express their tributes to an artist they have loved for years. Jackson was an inspiration for black originated music as he was one of the first black artists to make it on the cover of Rolling Stones magazine.
Need to know? Tickets are priced at R30 per person and are available at www.computicket.co.za or on 083 915 8000. Sales open on Monday, 29 June and all proceeds of the concert will go to the Cape Music Industry Commission and the development of local music.
Cape MIC is a section 21, non- profit organisation connecting the music industry in the Western Cape and facilitating the region’s musical and economical growth, expansion and evolution. They support the industry at various levels from socio-economic to technical and digital. They facilitate professional meetings, creative and strategic brainstorms, and educational workshops around key issues for all stakeholders in the industry. Ultimately the vision of the organisation is to see a South African Music Industry that self-supporting and nurturing of its contributors. They further want to see the industry transformed to not only solve its own problems but to be at the forefront of new business and development models for the global music industry. And finally they want to assist the South African Music Industry to boast a diverse range of talents, skills and attributes, which are at the forefront of the Global music industry.
Source: Media release issued by Affinity Strategic Communication on behalf of Heart 104.9FM.