SNAPS | Black Coffee apologises to fans after weather wreaks havoc at Music is King

DJ Black Coffee has apologised to angry fans after heavy winds wreaked havoc with his Music Is King festival in Durban at the weekend.

However, another concert has been lined up for Sunday.

After a sold-out show in Johannesburg on Saturday, fans had high hopes for the Durban leg. They were left disappointed and frustrated when the start of the show was delayed on Sunday and some of the acts cut from the line-up.

Some took to social media to vent their frustration.

In a statement, Black Coffee apologised for the delays. He said a health and safety officer had ordered an evacuation of the venue because of strong winds, just hours before the show was set to start.

“We were reading gusts of wind at over 70km per hour. This initiated the evacuation of all staff, which resulted in the delay of show readiness. As certain structures had moved and lifted, resulting in the integrity of the structures being compromised, we had to, by law, recertify all structures. Unfortunately, the structural engineer was busy and could only come and do sign-off after 4pm.

“The winds reached highs of over 70km per hour, this resulted in anything not tied down becoming a projectile and possibly causing serious injuries. After the winds had subsided it took a while to replace all the furniture. Stages and the dressing around the stages that protected the technical equipment was ripped off trusses and needed to be reinforced. We could not let the riggers up the trusses until the winds had subsided. It was with the consideration of all the patrons and staff safety that we had no choice but to delay the opening of the event yesterday,” a portion of the officer's report read.

The show eventually started, but some performances were cancelled.

Black Coffee said he was working on bringing the show back to Durban audiences later this weekend.

“My team and I are currently working tirelessly to bring back this experience, as previously planned for my hometown. Thank you to all the fans, sponsors and artists that were patient through the weather and for their unwavering love and support to us and Music Is King,” said Black Coffee.

Sunday's concert, which will be held at the Amphitheatre, New Promenade, will feature Black Coffee, Distruction Boyz, Muzi, DJ Dee, DJ Le Soul, DJ NAG, Mário, Khumz and Crae.