RAMFest


RAMFest was a music festival that took place a couple of times in South African cities. RAMFest caters to electronic and indie rock music, that offers local acts.

Background

RAMFest was started by Dawid Fourie in 2007 in Worcester, Western Cape, South Africa featuring 20 local talents. Since then RAMFest has grown to multiple South African cities and was one of the largest music festivals in the country. The "RAM" in RAMFest stands for Real Alternative Music according to Fourie, thus making the full name of the festival the Real Alternative Music Festival.

Previous editions

Performers

The following table lists the notable artists that have performed at RAMFest.
ArtistYear PerformedReferences
Fokofpolisiekar2007, 2009, 2010, 2012
Battery 92007, 2008, 2009
The Awakening2007, 2008
aKING2008, 2009
Die Antwoord2009, 2011
Foto na Dans2009
Van Coke Kartel2009, 2011, 2013
Isochronous2009, 2011
Pendulum2010, 2013
Jack Parow2010, 2013
The Narrow2010, 2012
Mind Assault2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013
Boo!2010
Johnny Foreigner2010
Die Heuwels Fantasties2010
Alkaline Trio2011
Funeral for a Friend2011
Zebra and Giraffe2011
Awolnation2012
In Flames2012
Infected Mushroom2012
Netsky2012
BEAST2013
Man As Machine2013, 2014
Rise Against2013
Bring Me The Horizon2013
Taxi Violence2014
Biffy Clyro2014
Trivium2014
Foals2014
Killswitch Engage2014
Camo & Krooked featuring Dynamite MC2014
Junkyard Lipstick2014

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 and it was cancelled there due to pressure from religious groups.
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. 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.
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.
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.
RAMFest announced that the 2016 edition will not feature any international acts, and cancelled the festival.