Rocking the Daisies is 10 years old this year! Unfortunately, I wasn’t at the first two, but I’ve been there for the last eight and BOY has it grown! Every year the festival has truly gotten bigger and better. They’ve had some hit (swap shop!) and some miss ideas (outside electro dome), but it’s still one of the best festivals in South Africa and everyone should really make a mission to attend it at least once.
So to celebrate the 3 month countdown until Rocking the Daisies, let’s take a look at some of how Rocking the Daisies has changed over the past 8 years. In 2008 I worked at the door so I don’t have many pictures from that year. Enjoy how much my photographs have also improved! Ah, life before iPhone 😉
CAMPING
Yes, you used to be able to camp next to your car at Rocking the Daisies. BUT, is it a safety risk (when there’s a fire, it’s a disaster) and there were a lot less cars back then. The one year was so muddy that everyone’s cars were getting stuck and a tractor had to come and pull them out! Not good.
THE DAM
One of the things that sets apart the Rocking the Daisies location is the dam. Once a quiet peaceful dam where ducks and people would swim side by side, the Dam now plays host to the techno dancefloor that has turned into a mini festival of its own. From beach sand being brought into make it a full on beach, to Goldfish sessions, make sure you pop past the dam for a great party.
In 2008 I worked the door so I missed the sunset on both sunsets!
THE WALKWAY
Once there was a little walk way between the campsite and then dance floor area, now it’s a big, Â scaffolding bridge (with a lot of water underneath half the time, don’t know where it comes from) that connects thousands of people to the music, literally.
MAIN STAGE
Main stage started as a really small setup for, probably, about 5000 people max. Over the years it was always the festival’s main focus until the shark shaped rave cave in 2012, which really brought people into the electronic space. The main stage’s reputation has continued to grow over the years and is now a revered space that artists pray to play on. The electronics have improved, as has the infrastructure and sound.
RAVE CAVE
The Rocking the Daisies Rave Cave, as it’s affectionately known, started off as a small little secondary stage that was the Red Bull truck and marquee. Over the years it’s become as big as the main stage and festival goers get very upset when it’s compromised, like in 2013 when there was no roof. However, they brought it back in full force in 2013 and people have been bopping inside it ever since.
And lastly, the queues. While people might complain how the queues have increased, it’ll always be tricky to get thousands of people in the door (especially after work and between the headliners on Friday night). Once upon a time, there was no queue.
