RAMFest

RAMFest is^[5] 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.

RAMFest
Genre	Various alternative genres including metal, rock, punk, hardcore, drum and bass, electronic
Dates	Annually in February/March
Location(s)	Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth.
Years active	2007–present[1][2]
Founders	Dawid Fourie[3][4]
Website	ramfest.co.za

Background

RAMFest was started by Dawid Fourie^[4] in 2007 in Worcester, Western Cape, South Africa featuring 20 local talents.^[1] Since then RAMFest has grown to multiple South African cities^[6] and was one of the largest music festivals in the country.^[7] The "RAM" in RAMFest stands for Real Alternative Music according to Fourie,^[4] 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.^[1]
• 2008 – Beyond Boundaries (29 February – 2 March) in Cape Town only.^[8]
• 2009 – Nekkies (27 February – 1 March) in Cape Town only.^[9]
• 2010 – The Real Alternative Music Festival (26–28 February; 6 March) in Cape Town and Johannesburg respectively.^[10]
• 2011 – RAMFest (4–5 March; 9 March; 12 March) in Cape Town,^[11] Durban^[12] and Johannesburg^[13] respectively.
• 2012 – A Day of Thunder (2 March; 3 March; 9 March; 10 March; 11 March) in Port Elizabeth,^[14] Bloemfontein,^[15] Durban,^[16] Johannesburg^[17] and Cape Town^[18] 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.^[19]
• 2014 - Red Heart Rum presents: RAMFest (6–9 March) in Cape Town and Johannesburg.^[20]
• 2019 - Halloween presents: RAMFest (16 June) in Pretoria.^[21]
• 2020 - Standard Bank presents: RAMFest (13 March) in Cape Town, RAMFest (14 March) in Pretoria.^[22]
• 2023 - RAMfest (1 September) in Cape Town, RAMfest (2 September) in Pretoria.^[23]

Performers

Rise Against live in Johannesburg, South Africa as part of RAMFest 2013.

Taxi Violence live in Johannesburg, South Africa as part of RAMFest 2014.

The following table lists the notable artists that have performed at RAMFest.

Artist	Year Performed	References
Fokofpolisiekar	[1][9][10][18][24]
Battery 9	2007, 2008, 2009	[1][8][9]
The Awakening	2007, 2008	[1][8]
aKING	2008, 2009	[8][9]
Die Antwoord	2009, 2011	[9][11]
Foto na Dans	2009	[9]
Van Coke Kartel	2009, 2011, 2013	[9][11][18]
Isochronous	2009, 2011	[9][11]
Pendulum	2010, 2013	[10][19][25]
Jack Parow	2010, 2013, 2023	[10][19]
The Narrow	2010, 2012	[10][18]
Boo!	2010	[10]
Johnny Foreigner	2010	[10]
Die Heuwels Fantasties	2010	[10]
Alkaline Trio	2011	[11][26]
Funeral for a Friend	2011	[11][26]
Zebra and Giraffe	2011	[11]
Awolnation	2012	[18][24]
In Flames	2012	[18][24][27]
Infected Mushroom	2012	[18][24][28]
Netsky	2012	[18][24]
BEAST	2013	[29]
Man As Machine	2013, 2014	[30][31]
Rise Against	2013	[19][25][32]
Bring Me the Horizon	2013	[25]
Taxi Violence	2014	[33]
Biffy Clyro	2014	[34]
Trivium	2014	[20]
Foals	2014	[34]
Killswitch Engage	2014	[20]
Camo & Krooked featuring Dynamite MC	2014	[20]
Junkyard Lipstick	2014	[20]
Atilla	2019	[21]
The Black Dahlia Murder	2020	[22]
Enter Shikari	2023	[35]
The Ocean Collective	2023	[36]

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^[37] and it was cancelled there due to pressure from religious groups.^[38]

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.^[39][40] 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.^[41]

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.^[42]

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.^[2]

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