Buskers wanting to perform at the V&A Waterfront will need to do so without the help of amplifiers.
|||Cape Town - Buskers wanting to perform at the V&A Waterfront will need to do so without the help of amplifiers.
The new rule states that buskers who require amplifiers or speakers will not be allowed to busk on the grounds, due to the amount of noise they make.
Waterfront spokeswoman Carla White said they had to find a balance that would be suitable for their visitors, retail tenants and restaurants.
“We offer the buskers a platform to showcase their talent and we don’t charge them to perform here and, after many investigations, the ruling now is no amps,” White said.
She said those buskers who could perform without amplification equipment would be allowed to stay. White said the rule only affected one of the six busker acts they had at the Waterfront.
“The Waterfront Four had reached the end of their three-month agreement and are eligible to re-audition and will be considered should they be able to perform without amplification,” White said.
Cecil Nkala and other members of the Siyabuya Marimba band said the new rules would not affect them but they felt it was a pity the Waterfront Four were affected by the new ruling.
“We’ve been hearing around that the guys (Waterfront Four) would not be allowed to play here anymore because they use amplifiers. But our music doesn’t need speakers so we are lucky,” Nkala said.
He said although they did not know the Waterfront Four they felt sorry for them.
Kirya Kuti, who plays the saxophone, said their band’s music was “natural” and didn’t require speakers.
“As musicians we want our sound to be natural. And marimbas are loud as it is and don’t need speakers. But as musicians we feel for them (other musicians) and we don’t know how they will survive now,” Kuti said.
Patrick Moffat, a regular visitor to the precinct, said he was sad the Waterfront Four had left. “That band was the reason we go there, they could have just asked them to turn the volume down,” Moffat said.
yolisa.tswanya@inl.co.za
Cape Argus