Karoo Tourism

André Swiegers brings Swerwer to Apollo in Victoria-West

This is music designed to be heard at close range, with the songwriter present as the keeper of the stories behind the songs.

The much-loved André Swiegers.

View the program here: September 5 - 8. September 9 - 12.

South African folk-rock singer and songwriter André Swiegers will open the musical programme of the Victoria-Wes Kunstefees when he performs at the Apollo Theatre this Saturday, September 5.

His production, Swerwer, is part of the festival’s opening-day evening programme, which also includes the official gallery opening and prize-giving. The event runs from 18:00 to 21:00 at the Apollo Theatre and Applous Café, with tickets priced at R200 per person.

The event is a fitting match between artist and venue. Swiegers has built a decades-long career around storytelling songs, while the Apollo is itself a place rich with memory.

Old favourites meet recent releases

Swerwer, meaning wanderer, brings together some of Swiegers’ best-known songs and a selection of recent releases in an intimate format. The layout of the production allows him to share the stories behind certain compositions.

These spoken interludes are a glimpse into how experience becomes music. A conversation or moment of uncertainty eventually emerge as a song that listeners recognise in their own lives.

The programme includes newer material such as Vry Soos Die Wind, ’n Dag Sonder Jou, Wie Sou Dit Sê? and Die Stad Is Te Veel. These songs sit alongside established favourites including Blou, Eva, Jammer om te Hoor, Die 1966 VW Beetle Blues, Blommekind, Ghost Train, Doncella, Hoor Hoe Val Die Reën and Twee Feilbare Mense.

Listen to a playlist / mix of André Swiegers' music here.

A songwriter and storyteller

Swiegers’ work belongs to the folk-rock tradition, where both melody and meaning are of equal importance. His influences include Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens, Paul Simon and Leonard Cohen, all writers known for treating the popular song as a compact storytelling form.

That influence can be heard in his attention to character and movement. His songs often feel inhabited by people and places emerging through carefully chosen detail.

Songs written decades ago continue to be performed and reinterpreted, while newer work continues to explore ordinary lives and the human need to keep moving.

The long reach of Blou

Maybe the best example of Swiegers’ influence as an Afrikaans songwriter is Blou. Laurika Rauch recorded the song in 1990, helping it reach a wide audience and become one of the pieces associated with both artists.

Swiegers later recorded it as a duet with Réana Nel. The song also travelled into another language when Myra Maudé recorded the French version Tout Bleu, while the Stellenbosch University Choir has produced its own choral interpretation.

Each version changes the setting around the song while preserving its emotional centre. This ability to survive a new voice and language is one measure of strong songwriting.

Swiegers’ work has also crossed South Africa’s borders. He co-wrote Coleske’s Take Me Where the Sun Is Shining, which found success in European markets. SAMRO later recognised it as one of 12 major South African hits from the preceding 40 years.

His album Sirkels van Tyd earned two SABC2 GMT Awards in 2005, winning best adult contemporary album as well as best producer of an Afrikaans album. These honours recognised not only his writing and performance, but also his contributions to the recorded sound.

Music in a Karoo landmark

The performance is part of a wider effort to establish the Apollo Theatre as a cultural destination in the Karoo. The historic cinema has survived periods of closure and revival while preserving original features like its seating, projection equipment and pictures of past film stars.

During the Victoria-Wes Kunstefees, the theatre will once again function as a working creative space. The programme runs from September 5 - 12, with exhibitions, workshops, book readings, children’s theatre, stargazing and live music spread across the Apollo complex and other Victoria West venues.

Swiegers opens the musical component on the first evening. Rocco de Villiers will close the festival with a performance at the theatre on Saturday, September 12.

The intimacy of Swerwer should suit the Apollo Theatre in Victoria West very well. This is music designed to be heard at close range, with the songwriter present as the keeper of the stories behind the songs - a fitting place to begin for a theatre finding a new future without discarding its history.

Event details

André Swiegers performs Swerwer during the gallery opening and prize-giving on Saturday, September 5. The event runs from 18:00 to 21:00 at the Apollo Theatre and Applous Café. Tickets cost R200 per person.