iafrica
NEWS
Kaisers, Muse, Korn for Coke Fest
Tue, 23 Oct 2007
Top international bands Kaiser Chiefs, Muse, Korn, Good Charlotte and former Soundgarden and Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell head the lineup of next year's My Coke Fest.
The event kicks off at the New Market Racecourse in Johannesburg on Friday, 21 March 2008 and proceeds to the Kenilworth Racecourse in Cape Town on Monday, 24 March 2008.
Each 12-hour festival is set to feature 10 bands, with the first local act on the bill confirmed as Prime Circle.
The 2008 incarnation looks set to continue the hard rock theme of its predecessors.
The event was initiated in 2006 when the Coca-Cola Colab was headlined by Metallica. In 2007, with a line-up including Evanescene, Hoobastank and no-show Guns N Roses, the festival was renamed My Coke Fest.
So who are the bands coming next year?
Korn — Jonathan Davis, James “Munky” Shaffer, Fieldy and David Silveria — have sold in excess of 25 million albums worldwide, and four of their albums debuted in the top three of the Billboard Top 200. Seen as pioneers of the '90s nu-metal movement popularised by Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park, the group recently released their self-titled eighth album.
Muse, meanwhile, are known for their extreme live performances having been named 'Best Live Act' at the Brit Awards for the last two years. The British three-piece — Matthew Bellamy, Chris Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard — produce a unique blend of alternative rock, classical music, electronica, heavy metal, Spanish guitars, and progressive rock. The band played the headline spot at Glastonbury, the legendary annual UK festival, and its headline concerts at Wembley Stadium earlier this year became two of the biggest-hyped concerts of 2007, with the first show selling out in 45 minutes, six months before the gig. Muse’s latest album, 'Black Holes and Revelations', released last year, became its second UK album chart number one.
Chris Cornell, the voice behind Soundgarden, Audioslave and Temple of the Dog, is best known for 'Black Hole Sun', off Soundgarden's their three million selling album, 'Superunknown', which also earned the band two Grammy Awards. Following the split of the grunge pioneers, he embarked on a brief solo career, yielding the album 'Euphoria Morning', before returning to the safety of numbers. After singer Zack de la Rocha quite Rage Against The Machine, the remaining members recruited Cornell to be the singer of Audioslave. Three albums later they parted ways, with the singer returning to a solo career that has so far yielded the theme tune to Bond movie 'Casino Royale' and the new album 'Carry On'
The English alternative rock band, named after the South African Kaizer Chiefs Football Club, exploded onto the global music scene with its performance at Live 8 in 2005 and hit tune 'I Predict A Riot'. Fronted by the outspoken Ricky Wilson, their award-winning debut album, 'Employment', sold almost three million albums worldwide, and stayed in the UK Top 40 for 18 months. Their follow up, 'Yours Truly, Angry Mob', was released earlier this year and has spawned the hit 'Ruby'.
Good Charlotte, meanwhile, have ridden the punk revival of the past five years, often being compared to the likes of Green Day, Sum 41 and Blink 182. In the process they have sold over nine million albums worldwide. The group — Paul Thomas, Billy Martin, Joel and Benji Madden and Dean Butterworth — released their fourth album, 'Good Morning Revival', earlier this year. The album debuted in the Top 10 of 13 countries worldwide, giving the band some of their highest international chart positions thus far.
Itinerary
Friday 21 March 2008, New Market Racetrack, Johannesburg
Monday 24 March 2008, Kenilworth Racetrack, Cape Town
Gates open at 10am for both events.
Tickets
Golden Circle: R600 (including Computicket service charges)
General Admission: R400 (including Computicket service charges)
General Admission (Student): R330 (including Computicket service charges)
Tickets are available from Computicket from Friday 26 October 2007.