The top 5 rocked Carfax in downtown Jo’burg where fans were asked to vote for their favourites. The Road to V judges had a hard time picking the top 3 out of the 5, but at the end of it, the top 3 to make it to the next musical stage are:

• 3rd World Spectator
• Captain Stu
• Gonzo Republic

All 3 bands will go on to be the support acts for One Republic, Maroon 5, Goldfish and The Parlotones at the Dome on the 13th of December, the 14th of December at the ICC in Durban and in Cape Town on the 17th at the Grand Arena at Grand West.

Then at the end of all that it’ll be known which Number 1 unsigned band will get to be on stage at next year’s Virgin Festival!

BAND PROFILES

Captain Stu – Cape Town
Captain Stu are a 6 piece band based in Cape Town. Their sound is described as a mix of African, ska, funk, and reggae with pop influences. Captain Stu began in 2002 with founding members Nick and Ryan. While forming they went through various members and sounds and it wasn’t until 2004 they started to gig as a 7 piece ensemble. At the time most of the members were just 17. They played throughout Cape Town and as gig offers increased their reputation amplified.

Members are:

• Nick Key - Vocals
• James Klopper - Guitar/Backing Vocals
• Ryan McArthur - Bass/ Double Bass
• Clement Carr - Saxophone/ Keyboard
• Jon Shaban - Saxophone
• Devin Jones - Drums

3rd World Spectator
The idea of 3rd World Spectator has been lying dormant for the past several years; the music has been around for a while, only coming to true fruition at the beginning of 2008 with the correct line-up of musicians being assembled.

Band members are:

• Peter Crafford - Lead Vocals, Guitar, Piano
• Justin Versfeld - Lead Guitar, Keyboard, Backing Vocals
• Geran Steyn - Bass and Programming
• André Wentzel - Drums

Gonzo Republic
Coming to you from the small island known as Durban, South Africa, Gonzo is doing things their way! Their EP is available for download from Myspace and at shows. Updates from the Facebook fans page will keep you in the loop of current news and gig dates. ‘Alternate’ because the guitaring and vocals swing the groove deep and dirty. According to their website, “the Gonzo Republic is a hybrid version of all the dirty rocking groove bands you can think of.”

Band members:

• Clayton Human- vocals
• Jonothan Cumming - bass
• Steven Du Plessis - drums
• Joshua Beechey - guitar

3 Concerts still taking place

As a platform for the Road to V winning band, three concerts presented by Virgin Mobile will still be taking place. On the 13th December in Johannesburg at Coca-Cola Dome, 14th December at Durban’s ICC and on the 17th in Cape Town at Grand Arena at Grandwest. Maroon 5, One Republic, The Parlotones and Goldfish will be lighting up the stage together with Road to V’s winning bands. The grand winner will still open the Virgin Festival by Virgin Mobile when it goes live.

The 3 concerts will be a curtain raiser for Virgin Festival 2009.

For those who’ve already bought tickets, there’s no need to worry. Current ticket holders have three options:

1. Hold onto tickets for next year’s Virgin Festival, as they will still be valid
2. Get a full refund from Computicket
3. Or attend the curtain raiser for the Virgin Festival 2009 instead, which will be cheaper, so you will also be entitled to a partial refund of your original ticket price

It really is disappointing news, but in the long run, the event being postponed to secure much bigger and better international acts is the best solution.

Check out some of the top notch designs below:

Springleap is also a truly South African product - all the materials are sourced within our borders and created right here in SA! So head on over to Springleap and grab yourself a designer t-shirt for 10% cheaper that you can wear to The Virgin Fest 2008!

Richard Branson, whos legendary Virgin Festival heritage is the inspiration behind the Road to V. If you are a local South African band, you can register and upload your tracks on http://www.virginmobile.co.za. Music lovers will be able to review and vote for their favourite bands and from the entries, 12 bands will be chosen to go through to the finals and perform live across the country.

If that wasn’t exciting enough, all these regional performances will be broadcasted on MTV Base in the 5 weeks leading up to the Virgin Festival.

So, do you have what it takes? Register and upload your tracks now!

They are:

• Sugababes
• Goldfish

Goldfish are one of the most exciting live electronica acts in the world right now and they come from a small city on the southern-most tip of Africa, Cape Town!

Sugababes are an English pop group trio from London. The group consists of Keisha Buchanan, Heidi Range and Amelle Berrabah. They have been named the most successful all-female act of the 21st century in the UK. and have sold more than 5 million albums in the UK alone!

Durban has always been snubbed by other events like My Coke Fest, but this year, at least 2 of the international artists that are performing as part of the Virgin Festival will be making their way down to the International Convention Centre in Durban!

Go and grab your tickets for the Durban event to be held at the ICC the 14th of December from Computicket.com.

List of Bands / Artists

• Metallica - Not Available
• Madonna - Not Available
• Coldplay - Not Available
• Oasis - Not Available
• Radiohead - Available!
• Nine Inch Nails - Not Available
• Stone Temple Pilots - Available!
• Dave Matthews Band - Available!
• Staind - Available!
• Cheech & Chong - Not Available
• Counting Crows - Not Available
• Weezer - Available!
• Ryan Adams - Available!
• Slipknot - Not Available
• Jonas Brothers - Available!
• R.E.M. - Available!
• Foo Fighters - Available!
• Kid Rock - Not Available
• Def Leppard - Not Available
• Death Cab for Cutie - Available!
• Linkin Park - Available!
• Kings of Leon - Not Available
• The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus - Available!
• Lenny Kravitz - Available!
• KORN - Available!

I didn’t check all the top 50 artists on Pollstar as they probably wouldn’t play at the SA Virgin Fest anyway (Eagles, Elton John etc.).

So, with the above possibilities, are you more excited about the Virgin Fest? Let us know in the comments!

All the latest info about the bands, tickets and breaking news will be posted on thevirginfest.co.za as well as on the Facebook and Blueworld groups, so you won’t miss out on a thing!

Click on the logo’s below to join!

Virgin Fest South Africa on Facebook

Virgin Fest South Africa on Blueworld

• Eddy Grant
• Maroon 5
• One Republic
• The Parlatones
• Zebra and Giraffe
• Jozi
• Snoop Dogg
• Dirty Skirts

As you can see, this is only the start! There are still a number of bands and artists that will be announced in the upcoming weeks, so stay tuned!

We will be adding info about the venues, dates, bands, ticket sales and tons of information in the next few days, so stay tuned!