The first Major League Garden’s of 2017 and my 3rd Major League Garden’s since its inception, so I have an idea of what to expect this time around in terms of crowd and setup but things were different this time around.
Sandiso just unlocked @BennyMaverick #Memeza at #AllWhiteGardens pic.twitter.com/1R6ZGLUSpa
— Yule (@YuleD) March 18, 2017
So if you had seen the map, you somewhat would have seen they went for the usual, VIP on 1 side and VVIP on the other side, whilst General in the middle, no Golden Circle but there was a limit to how far you could move forward with your camp chairs. Then the bar was at the back, which I had no problem with because they had a nice special running if you arrived early.
.@CassperNyovest performing 'Jump' at #AllWhiteGardens and the crowd going insane pic.twitter.com/Bq753OwiWB
— Yule (@YuleD) March 18, 2017
This line-up included a nice mix of commercial House DJs (Mo Flava) and also Gqom DJs (DJ Sandiso and Distruction Boyz) but there no House Music artist or performances, like how Babes Wodumo was the most anticipated thing last year. Major League DJs have kept a strong connection within the Hip Hop industry, so you could understand that the line-up would be Hip Hop heavy, a plus because the audience was treated to AKA and Cassper Nyovest but OkMalumKoolkat wasn’t on the line-up this time around. Also, if memory serves me correct, there was no throwback artist or group from the 90s. Seeing Riky Rick on stage was good, considering the label issues he has recently. One thing that did catch me off-guard was Cassper Nyovest performing really early, as he has been 1 of the artists to either close the show or perform really late into the event. Personally, I had no favourites on stage but it was interesting seeing the transition between Hip Hop and House on stage.
.@DistructionB "Shut And Groove" #AllWhiteGardens pic.twitter.com/RzT7qppS6l
— Yule (@YuleD) March 20, 2017
There weren’t any play areas but there was a smokers lounge as the only activation, meaning there wasn’t as many brands jumping on it this time around, which is a loss because the event pulls a really heavy youth market. The weather also played fair this time around, allowing us to enjoy from beginning to end. There wasn’t as big a crowd as last time though, one was able to move around in the General area but there was a huge crowd nonetheless.
So on an overall, first event of the year, no activations, less crowd, still something worth attending but they have not introduced anything new or pushed boundaries this time around. There was a huge celebrity attendance though.