Take the party outdoors: cool summer concert series kicks off in Joburg

Some of SA's top musical acts, including Jeremy Loops and Matthew Mole, will play at Large on the Lawn, a new series of laid-back concerts set in a leafy Randburg park

For some reason, when the powers that be were handing out cool botanically themed concert series, they skipped past Johannesburg. Cape Town got the Kirstenbosch Summer Concerts, Durban got Music at the Lake and, like the middle child, Johannesburg was ignored.

As of this weekend that changes with the introduction of Large on the Lawn, a summer concert series featuring some of South Africa's best-known live music acts.

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Performing at the event's debut will be Matthew Mole and Jeremy Loops, both of whom have lost a fair amount of nasal skin to the grindstone over the past year and a half.

"It's been crazy. We've just come from playing 27 international festivals over the European summer, including opening for Skunk Anansie [at the Concert at Sea festival in the Netherlands] in front of every person at the festival. It must have been around 20,000 people," said Loops.

While there seems to have been less of an international focus to Mole's touring schedule, the voice behind Take Yours, I'll Take Mine has been so busy introducing his new album to fans across the country that, like many of those who worked through December, he decided to take a week off in January.

"It's been amazing to see the response. People have been singing the songs at shows and that always blows me away. December was the 'busy month' so my wife and I wanted to come to the States for a week off. We are being tourists," said Mole.

South African artists often struggle to make headway abroad but both Loops and Mole seem to be finding their niches.

"I haven't done any massively extensive international touring just yet, but playing shows overseas has been an amazing experience so far. I've received a lot of great feedback from all over the world from radio play and digital purchase of my music," said Mole.

"The UK has been glorious for us. The crowds there have been ever growing. Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland have also been really good to us," said Loops.

That said, both cite South Africa as their favourite touring destination and, given our abundance of sunshine and braai-conducive scenery, it is not difficult to see why. Hopefully those things, combined with Loops and Mole, will blossom into a great reason to get some fresh air this Sunday.

• Large on the Lawn with Jeremy Loop and Matthew Mole takes place this Sunday, January 29, at Golden Harvest Park in Northgate. Visit largeonthelawn.co.za for details of other upcoming concerts.

• This article was originally published in The Times.