SA’s Themba to play Bridges for Music charity event

He will be joined by Lady Z as well as other musicians around the world. The annual fundraising event, which is sponsored by Pioneer DJ, Beatport, Garmin and Tacx, traditionally forms part of the annual Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) conference.

The eight-hour relay race will take place virtually this year, and will see top DJs, music executives, promoters and other industry figures cycling on Tacx Neo Smart Trainers from music venues around the world, including the Bridges Academy in Cape Town and Los Angeles, Watergate in Berlin, Ministry of Sound in London, and the ADE headquarters at the Felix Meritis in Amsterdam.

Some of the international teams and riders already confirmed include Goldfish, Armada, Defected, Awakenings, Richie Hawtin, Floyd Lavine and Juliet Fox. All proceeds from the event will go to the Bridges for Music programme for underserved communities in South Africa.

“We are really honoured to have been a founding sponsor of Bridges For Music, and we completely endorse their noble mission of uncovering, developing, and nurturing the latent and untapped talents of the underprivileged,” Pioneer DJ general manager for Europe, the Middle East and Africa Mark Grotefeld said.

Beatport creative services vice-president Ed Hill said: “Our community is always looking for ways to give back and even though we can't gather physically this year in Amsterdam, we felt it was important to get creative and raise funds for this very important cause. This virtual eight-hour bike ride reflects the enthusiasm that our community of DJs, label execs, promoters and others maintain, even as we face such a challenging time."

Interested participants can take part in the event from home via the Zwift app. Entries for new riders and teams are open until 12 October. Zwift users can join the event virtually up until the starting time.

The event will be broadcast on Beatport's Twitch channel and the store's homepage from 2pm to 10pm CAT, and will include real-time tracking of the riders.

Meanwhile, SA food store UCook, together with Ellerman House and Rain, will host an online fundraising concert called Music for Meals on 30 October. The event is aimed at raising funds for crisis relief and food-aid initiatives. The two-hour concert will feature 13 acts, including Dave Matthews, Tom Morello, Ard Matthews, Karen Zoid, Lira, Majozi, Ndlovu Youth Choir, The Parlotones, Prime Circle, Springbok Nude Girls, Vusi Mahlasela, Watershed and Zolani Mahola.