We are absolutely thrilled to announce that we will be performing at not one, but two very special venues this August.
The Barleycorn has been around for 50 years supporting local talent and original music. Although committee members have come and gone and venues have changed, the sentiment and original spirit has has remained the same. I don't think the Cape Town music scene would even exist without it.
With @jasperdick being an ex-committee member himself, we do get to throw in some tongue in cheek humor. Since the Barleycorn frowns upon covers and prefers original content, @jasperdick came up with "the cover hat of shame" idea which has been one of many gimmicks that he has come up with that I was stubborn about not doing, but eventually gave in and , if course, it's turned out brilliantly. Some other things Jasper has thrown my way to tackle stage fright have been musical bells, a xylophone, egg shakers, a tambourine and even a kazoo! Not to mention an autoharp and a rainstick!?
I actually couldn't believe Jasper was willing to share the stage with me ((Pre MobeyDick) and it's just beyond belief that we are now headed for our 6th performance with them. It's incredible how far we have come and what we have learned in the process - like the stage lights are not glued down and CAN be danced off the stage, and realizing how important it is to not wear any translucent clothing as flippit those lights are bright!
Here are some of my favourite photos and video links from MobeyDick's start to the present.
https://youtu.be/IdX6-sZSlqQ
https://youtu.be/9lt_ZZw3AlA
https://youtu.be/Sd2XTsqs0iY
https://youtu.be/vxXkxCDpJjc
Andy's club was the brainchild of Andy Mercer and he begrudgingly allowed us to call it that! We are SO lucky to have been part of this incredibly successful endeavour that shares many of the same sentiments as the Barleycorn.
Not surprisingly, Andy is also a committee member for the Barleycorn, but has noted for quite some time that there is a massive gap when it comes to opportunities for original music as well as budding musicians.
It has grown from a tiny house event to a fully booked out, reputable and awesome venue, Reload, who has featured many of South Africa's best talent around, including Mark Haze!
What started out as a closed event has now been opened to the public for the 1st time and tickets have been flying! Once again, we are so proud to be a part of this initiative and hope to inspire other musicians to come and join us to perform in front of a unique "listening audience," which is especially valuable to musicians who are sharing original content, written from the heart. Here's how far we've come in pictures and videos as we head toward And's Club no 4!
https://youtu.be/K96F13FKPe0?si=w1_iXUgjuK8rAhqL
https://youtu.be/Yp24R-9Cw-c
https://youtu.be/RYbYuzgcrr0
https://youtu.be/n-ruQhQBQb8
https://youtu.be/1vnRYqGOvUg
We have had the privilege of performing beside some incredible musicians including Rae Swarts band/ trio: the Seriously Ridiculous Rebels, Matt Roux himself, Jason Vos and Martin Procheska as well as Andy himself - just to name a few!
It turns out that there are a lot of musicians who are looking for an outlet for their creativity AND there are a lot of people who want to come and listen! Tickets for Andy's Club are available via Quicket here: Quicket for Andy's Club
And Barleycorn is a pay-at-the-door vibe.
After quite a long gap, we are definitely ready to dust off our songs and play some new ones for both events. They are sure to be absolute rockers!
You can also join the Facebook/ Facebook events pages for both evenings here.
[The Barleycorn 18.08.2025]
(https://www.facebook.com/events/730482399971222/?acontext=%7B%22event_action_history%22%3A[%7B%22surface%22%3A%22home%22%7D%2C%7B%22mechanism%22%3A%22attachment%22%2C%22surface%22%3A%22newsfeed%22%7D]%2C%22ref_notif_type%22%3Anull%7D)
Andy's Club