94.5 KFM Presents Jesse Clegg Live In Cape Town

Jesse Clegg’s first concert production, ‘When I Wake Up’, will take place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) on 7 November 2009 for one show only.

Jesse Clegg released his debut album, When I Wake Up, in October last year and is already nearing Gold status and received 2 x SAMA nominations. The first single, ‘Today’, has received extensive airtime, and shot up the charts in the first week it was released.

Jesse’s live performances recently, include sold out concerts at the Joburg Theatre, and an appearance on the “Mandela Day” concert held at the world famous Radio City Music Hall in New York. Expect to hear the #1 singles “Today” and “Heartbreak Street” as well as the upcoming 3rd single “Girl Lost In The City”, other hot tracks from the album and even some unrecorded new material! Jesse Clegg had some surprise artists join him on stage in Johannesburg which I am sure he will repeat in Cape Town as well.

Jesse was born in Johannesburg in 1988. By the time he was six months old he was on tour with his father, Johnny Clegg, and between 1988 and 1994 he spent at least five months a year on the road. He was a classic road kid and grew up backstage and on tour busses. In 1994 his father’s band broke up and the touring subsided. Jesse schooled in Johannesburg at Crawford College and matriculated with six distinctions in 2006.

In school Jesse experimented with a number of different instruments – including saxophone, clarinet, drums and piano – until he finally settled on guitar. He started playing when he was about 13, focusing mostly on chord structures and simple licks.

Early on, Jesse carved out an independent direction for himself in the rock genre, very different from the world music style developed by his dad. As someone who grew up in the environment of a successful musical father, he strived to express himself in the most authentic way possible and understood the importance of being able to perform live.

After Jesse matriculated, he took a gap year to record more demo tracks and put together an album. He also started a band which gave him the opportunity to rehearse and perform some of the songs around Johannesburg – appearing under a number of different band names. It was here that a few of the songs took shape in terms of arrangement and guitar sounds. By this time, Jesse was looking to professionally record the songs with producer Brian O’Shea, who joined the project and they began work on what was to be the final album, When I Wake Up.

The highlight of Jesse’s career came in June 2007 when he got the opportunity to tour internationally with his father Johnny Clegg once again. He performed alongside his father at a number of festivals in France to crowds of more than 10 000 people. Another highlight for Jesse was when a major Belgian producer, Nicolas Fizman, agreed to co-produce his album alongside Brian O’Shea. By the end of 2007 the album was completed and in early 2008 he signed a major record deal with David Gresham Records.

Be first in line to witness this exciting new talent LIVE in Cape Town!

Tickets are available at Computicket from R130 (excluding Computicket booking fee). Show starts at 8pm.

Proudly presented by 94.5 KFM

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Press Release

- Sergio Pereira
sergio@musicreview.co.za