RAMFest is a music festival that took place a couple of times in South African cities. RAMFest caters to electronic and rock music, that offers local acts as well.
Background RAMFest was started by Dawid Fourie in 2007 in Worcester, Western Cape, South Africa featuring 20 local talents. Since then RAMFest has grown to multiple South African cities and was one of the largest music festivals in the country. The "RAM" in RAMFest stands for Real Alternative Music according to Fourie, thus making the full name of the festival the Real Alternative Music Festival.
Previous editions
2007 – Twisted Playground (2 – 3 March) in Cape Town only. 2008 – Beyond Boundaries (29 February – 2 March) in Cape Town only. 2009 – Nekkies (27 February – 1 March) in Cape Town only. 2010 – The Real Alternative Music Festival (26–28 February; 6 March) in Cape Town and Johannesburg respectively. 2011 – RAMFest (4–5 March; 9 March; 12 March) in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg respectively. 2012 – A Day of Thunder (2 March; 3 March; 9 March; 10 March; 11 March) in Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein, Durban, Johannesburg and Cape Town respectively. 2013 – Red Heart Rum presents: RAMFest (7–10 March; 8 March; 15 March; 15 March; 15–16 March) in Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Durban (again) and Johannesburg respectively. The first Durban show was for electronic acts while the second was for rock and metal acts. 2014 - Red Heart Rum presents: RAMFest (6–9 March) in Cape Town and Johannesburg. 2019 - Halloween presents: RAMFest (16 June) in Pretoria. 2020 - Standard Bank presents: RAMFest (13 March) in Cape Town, RAMFest (14 March) in Pretoria. 2023 - RAMfest (1 September) in Cape Town, RAMfest (2 September) in Pretoria.
Performers
The following table lists the notable artists that have performed at RAMFest.
Artist Year Performed References Fokofpolisiekar Battery 9 2007, 2008, 2009 The Awakening 2007, 2008 aKING 2008, 2009 Die Antwoord 2009, 2011 Foto na Dans 2009 Van Coke Kartel 2009, 2011, 2013 Isochronous 2009, 2011 Pendulum 2010, 2013 Jack Parow 2010, 2013, 2023 The Narrow 2010, 2012 Boo! 2010 Johnny Foreigner 2010 Die Heuwels Fantasties 2010 Alkaline Trio 2011 Funeral for a Friend 2011 Zebra and Giraffe 2011 Awolnation 2012 In Flames 2012 Infected Mushroom 2012 Netsky 2012 BEAST 2013 Man As Machine 2013, 2014 Rise Against 2013 Bring Me the Horizon 2013 Taxi Violence 2014 Biffy Clyro 2014 Trivium 2014 Foals 2014 Killswitch Engage 2014 Camo & Krooked featuring Dynamite MC 2014 Junkyard Lipstick 2014 Atilla2019The Black Dahlia Murder2020Enter Shikari2023The Ocean Collective2023
Controversies In 2012, a chain mail was circulated, implying that RAMFest had a Satanic involvement. As a result, RAMFest had trouble organising another venue for the Bloemfontein leg of the fest and it was cancelled there due to pressure from religious groups.
In December 2012, the metalcore band As I Lay Dying pulled out from the RAMFest 2013 line-up due to being double booked to support The Devil Wears Prada on their tour. The Devil Wears Prada's tour dates conflicted with RAMFest 2013's dates, making it impossible for As I Lay Dying to have performed at Ramfest 2013.
During Bring Me the Horizon's set at the Johannesburg leg of the festival for 2013, tear gas was thrown into the crowd which caused fans to cough and tear up.
RAMFest announced that the 2015 edition of the festival was cancelled, citing the lack of suitable acts for the line up as the reason for its cancellation.
RAMFest announced that the 2016 edition will not feature any international acts, and cancelled the festival.
See also In The City Oppikoppi Musical Performance Music of South Africa Splashy Fen
References