Interview by Dee Theart (@deetheart)
Photo provided by Stephanie Pana
The first Large On The Lawn in Johannesburg is taking place this Sunday, 29 January! We are super excited to have Matthew Mole and Jeremy Loops on the bill, and we had an interview to catch up with Jeremy on what his plans for the year are, as well as what we can expect from Large on the Lawn!
You’ll be performing at the very first Large on the Lawn event as part of your Home Tour. What are your expectations and thoughts about this day festival initiative in Jozi?
We’re feeling good about Large on the Lawn. The idea of doing an outdoor summer sunset concert in Johannesburg, like Kirstenbosch in Cape Town or Music at the Lake in Durban, appeals to us for obvious reasons. We love playing indoor venues and arenas, but any excuse to take it outside during the summertime in a mellow, relaxed environment, we’re down for.
What do you think the best way is to be Large on the Lawn? Any suggestions you can share with festival goers?
You know what’s nice about new events? People get to define for themselves what the environment is like. There’s never been a Large on the Lawn before… so Joburg gets to decide what that actually looks and feels like. I’m super curious to see how the Johannesburg crowd embraces this concert series.
You tour a lot overseas these days. What differentiates SA crowds from the overseas crowds you’ve performed for?
Music lovers are the same world over. It’s not so much the crowds that are different but the environment shows happen in. In SA, there’s always this expectation at live shows for there to be other things to do too. You know, you don’t have to watch the band and you can find something else to distract you while you’re out. Abroad, most live music venues we play in are dedicated specifically to the musicians playing. There’s literally nothing else to do there. And when the shows over, people get ushered out because there’s no further entertainment being offered. At that stage, people can choose to go to bars or some other vibes. Maybe South Africa’s live venue market can’t support that model, I don’t know, but it does ensure that people see more bands – especially the openers – and more focus is placed on the musicians.
Jeremy Loops – photo by Stephanie Pana
What do you miss the most about SA when you are away from home?
My family, no doubt.
A massive recent achievement of yours, was to be selected as part of this year’s Lollapalooza Festival in Paris (with headliners like Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Weeknd and Lana Del Rey) – well done! Has it been a lifelong dream to share a stage with these world-renowned artists and how does it feel to be on this massively awesome line-up?
It’s always encouraging to be mentioned alongside and playing alongside musicians known the world over. For me, it’s a reminder we’re doing the right things and making the right moves. South African musicians don’t have to be second class citizens in the music playing world, and just because there aren’t many of us doing it at this level isn’t reason to believe we don’t deserve to be here. We’ve been playing major festivals like Lollapalooza for nearly two years now.
Lastly, what can we expect of your performance at Large on the Lawn? Any surprizes up your sleeve?
It’s been a very long time since we’ve played in Johannesburg, and our set has changed a lot in that time. I’m also working on my new album, so we may or may not be sneaking in a few songs from that record into the set. So, I don’t know if I’d call those ‘surprises,’ per se, but this show will be well different from our last time in Jozi.
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