Folk You

by Nate Maingard in February 2012 - Creative Lounge

The room begins to hum with the buzz of conversation as slowly they trickle in. The poster says the gig starts at 5pm, but only the extremely enthusiastic are optimistic enough to arrive that early. This is Cape Town, after all. By 5:40pm the Octopus’ Garden has filled out and I can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that this gig at least is going to be a success.

My name is Nate Maingard and I make my living on the edge, playing Indie Folk music for anyone who wants to hear it. I returned from living overseas on 1 Jan 2011 (yes, I flew over new years and no, they didn’t serve champagne on the plane). I promptly began working for an incredible health food company, where I had great co-workers, amazing hours, a wonderful starting wage and the use of a company car… and I was depressed. I realized then that no matter how beautiful something is; if it is not truly your dream then living it can only lessen life. At that point I quit my job and committed my life to playing music. Since then I have played over seventy gigs, released an album, played two festivals and I am about to embark on my third national tour, culminating in a new festival called The Drake Music Festival in KZN.

“But wait, before we go on,” you say and then, “what is Indie Folk?” you ask.

Indie Folk originated from the alternative and indie rock scene in the 90’s, when some singer-songwriters and bands began performing music which was strongly influenced by the folk music of the 50s, 60s and 70s. Some of the most popular international bands successfully hiding from the mind numbing avalanche of commercial pop under the fortuitous sheep of Indie Folk are Bon Iver, Fleet Foxes, Feist, The Decemberists and many more.

Cape Town is currently spoken of as the Indie Folk ‘mecca’ of South Africa, and with good reason. We can claim bragging rights to such luminaries as DieselVanilla, Tim Hutchinson, Andrew James & The Steady Tiger, Gary Thomas, Miles Sievwright and Simon Van Gend, to name but a few. These musicians play songs which transport the listener, inspiring beautiful pictures in mesmerised minds. Music of the folk allows the human condition to become a shared understanding of the ‘humanness’ of us all and maybe, for just a moment, alleviates the mad rush and the difficulties we all have to face at points in our lives, reminding us that community and music make life delicious.

Now that I’ve whet your appetite, go order yourself a mouth-watering serving of soul-food folk music at one of these fine Cape Town venues: Some of my favourites being Alma Café, Octopus’ Garden, Pincushion Cottage (I run this one at my house), The Waiting Room and newcomer to the scene The Field Office.

If there’s anything you’d like to know about the Indie Folk scene, or have recommendations for music and venues in Cape Town or South Africa in general, please feel free to email me on natemain@gmail.com.

My next feature will focus on more musical recommendations which will expand your musical library, and help you to become one of the people ‘in the know’ where it concerns the fantastic world of Indie Folk. For on-going updates about gigs, band reviews, tour stories and more, all from a musician’s perspective,visit me at my blog at http://natemaingard.com or follow me on @natemaingard.