Steve Hofmeyr’s IKOON concert at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town has been officially cancelled over a recent bitter spat between organisers and artists, one of them being fellow Afrikaans singer Kurt Darren.
The tribute show was meant to take place on 26 October, after it was initially postponed over poor ticket sales.
STEVE HOFMEYR CONFIRMS IKOON HAS BEEN CANCELLED
In a Facebook post, Steve Hofmeyr confirmed that promoters had canned his IKOON tribute concert.
The event – celebrating Steve’s milestone 60th birthday this year – was set to take place on 26 October at Cape Town’s DHL Stadium and feature guest artists like Nadine, Bobby van Jaarsveld, and Juanita du Plessis. It was initially set to take place on 29 March, but was postponed over poor ticket sales. A few weeks earlier, the performer enjoyed a successful IKOON show in Pretoria.
In his post, Steve revealed that music promoter Wynand de Villiers, who is part of Cool Concerts – the organisers behind IKOON – had pulled the plug on his upcoming show over a contractual spat with artists like Kurt Darren.
Despite his disappointment, the Afrikaans singer empathised with both sides.
“I am sad about IKOON, Cape Town, which has been cancelled by the organiser. However, his reasons are valid. No well-intentioned project can breathe in such a dark cloud of mud-throwing, rumors, envy, and venom”.
Image via Facebook
Steve encouraged both artists and music promoters to have clear communication channels, mutual respect, and to negotiate when necessary. He also cautioned any frustrated party from offering “gossip” to media publications.
He added, “I salute artists who stood up for themselves. They are right.”
He added that the organisers had “good intentions”.
KURT DARREN CONCERT DRAMA: WHAT HAPPENED?
Last week, Cool Concerts’ Wynand de Villiers publicly admonished singer Kurt Darren over his “greed” at the recent Theuns Jordaan tribute concert in Amsterdam.
Kurt was one of several Afrikaans artists whom De Villers named and shamed to the media.
According to the music promoter, Kurt Darren demanded R92 000 in compensation for the concert, which ran at a deficit. He claimed two other artists, Floors Oosthuizen and Bok van Blerk, held the show “hostage” by demanding their full payments before the production took place. De Villiers explained that he had requested to make the final payment after the show, as it had run into a considerable shortfall.
De Villiers claims he was reavaulting promoting Kurt’s IKOON concert, which was billed to take place next year.
“This behaviour cast a shadow over a concert that should have been dignified and honorable, and it forces us to carefully consider the future of Kurt Darren’s IKOON production”, he told Maroela Media.
According to Kurt’s wife, Dunay van Heerden, the singer had already withdrawn from the concert over the “red flags” he witnessed from organisers.
Kurt explained that he had personally covered his own travel, accommodation, meals, and visa costs for the Amsterdam trip. The money he had requested was compensation for his “work, time, and effort.”
In a statement, he said that agents were required to cover the costs of artists, which was standard practice.
It read: “Suggestions of excessive payment are a gross misrepresentation. The agreed fee included almost a week’s absence from his home and family, extensive rehearsals, the performance itself, and compliance with the South African VAT legislation”.
IKOON ORGANISERS VS ARTISTS: WHO IS AT FAULT?
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