Join us for a trip down memory lane as we celebrate and chart the growth of our local sounds
Johannesburg, 15 April 2024: Ballantine’s True Music celebrates 10
years of Boiler Room in May. The partnership has played a pivotal role in the popularisation of South African-birthed genre’s of Amapiano, Bacardi, and Gqom on stages around the globe. Through its revered broadcasts, the platform has showcased many local artists
who have gone on to make waves and impact abroad.
Leading up to the Boiler Room 10-year Anniversary in May, Ballantine’s True
Music will head to Pretoria on 20 April for an Amapiano and Bacardi immersion. The festivities will start at Braai Maestro in Pretoria West from 18:30 where inventive duo, Mellow & Sleazy, and “Tiya Mfana” hitmaker, DJ Tshegu, will churn out their Bacardi-tinged
Amapiano tunes.
At 22:00 Ballantine’s True Music will take over Hawayu Lifestyle in Centurion
where Bacardi flagbearer, Enny Man da Guitar, and Private School Amapiano stalwart, Kelvin Momo, will hit the decks.
The Durban leg of Ballantine’s True Music takes place on 27 April with the
purveyors of Gqom, Durban’s Finest—DJ Tira and Sox. The pioneering duo will set the dancefloor ablaze at Exit Shisayama and Carwash alongside GoldMax, one-half of the iconic Distruction Boyz.
Ballantine’s True Music, with Boiler Room as the platform, has continuously
championed local sounds and aided in their international expansion. From the early days of Boiler Room in 2014, artists like House DJ Lamiez Holworthy made it a point to include some Amapiano songs during her set, at a time when it was not fashionable in the
mainstream.
This boots-on-the-ground grassroots approach mirrors how the platform has
also treated the pulsating sound of Gqom. During Boiler Room 2019 in Durban, DJ Lag’s “Amanikiniki” had attendees in a trance-like frenzy and went on to be a globe-trotting viral hit.
Thirashan Naidoo, Ballantine’s Marketing Manager at Pernod Ricard says
Ballantine’s mission has always been to showcase, promote, celebrate and bring wide-spanning communities together through music, culture and entertainment.
“Our True Music events in Pretoria and Durban will again showcase local talent
and sounds, and with our decade-long Boiler Room partnership, we have managed to stay true to our cause and take those sounds global for the rest of the world to take notice,” says Naidoo.
The Boiler Room 10th
Anniversary takes place in Johannesburg, and artists on the line-up include Amapiano royalty Scorpion Kings, “Mnike” hitmaker Tyler ICU and DBN Gogo. Sign up
HERE for tickets.
More information on the True Music events can be found on the individual venue’s
social media platforms and
@ballantinesSA. #staytrue
ENDS
About Ballantine’s
Ballantine’s is the No.1 Scotch whisky in Europe and the No.2 Scotch whisky
in the world with the range selling over 70 million bottles a year worldwide. Ballantine’s was created as a Whisky for Everyone; and a commitment to inclusivity is part of the brand’s DNA as the motto ‘a friend to all humankind’ has been on the crest of every
bottle for over 100 years.
Everything we do at Ballantine’s encourages authenticity and staying true
to who you are. Stay True brings a positive message of self-expression and choice, that if you Stay True to who you are, then there’s no wrong way to live. No wrong way to dance, to work, to dress, to love, in fact, there’s no wrong way to live your life.
This message is bought to life via Ballantine’s True Music platform where
we inspire fans across the globe with credible experiences, defending people’s right to show up as themselves through our safe dancefloors policy. Ballantine’s True Music is committed to representing, supporting, and promoting global inclusive music culture,
celebrating local and diverse music communities and the people that make them thrive. Since 2014, together with long-standing partner Boiler Room, Ballantine’s has supported more than 800 artists, celebrating over 70 local communities, in 30 countries.
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