Praise the LOUD Fest returns to Sognage in Johannesburg on Saturday 24 October with a lineup of established and emerging South African alternative acts, after the first two phases of tickets sold out ahead of what organisers expect to be the festival’s biggest edition yet.
The Praise the LOUD music agency, which staged the festival twice in 2025, announced that BOO!, Ac/Es, Fuzigish, Cutting Jade and Black Heidi would perform, with DJ duo #SOZLOL closing the night. The organisers said the event was built around nostalgia, discovery and community, and that the programme would extend beyond the stage to live tattooing, food stands, exclusive band merchandise, alternative fashion and craft beverages, with Luna Black returning to tattoo on site.
Ac/Es brings together singer and songwriter Arno Carstens and guitarist, producer and songwriter Evert Snyman. The pair’s self titled debut album was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 2026 South African Music Awards, where the duo was also recognised in the Duo/Group of the Year category. BOO! is known for the sound the band calls Monkipunk, Fuzigish has been playing ska punk for more than two decades, and Cutting Jade returns with the alternative rock catalogue it built as an independent band.
Black Heidi is the newest name on the bill. The singer and songwriter took I’m Fine to No. 1 on the 5FM 5 Nights Indie Chart, and has since released Bullfrog and her debut album, Sunshine’s Bright Shiny Beam.
Only a limited number of Behind the Curtain VIP Passes are available, however, and general admission tickets from the cheaper early phases are gone. VIP holders get in an hour early and have access to a separate lounge with its own bar and bathrooms, welcome drinks, a secret acoustic performance, a meet and greet with the bands, photographs in the festival photobooth and a bag of festival and artist merchandise.
General admission gates open at 16:00, VIP gates open at 15:00, and the festival concludes by 23:30. Tickets are available on Quicket. Festivalgoers who want to stay over can book a discounted room at Hotel Sky Sandton through BLY Travel, and lineup updates are posted on the festival’s Facebook and Instagram pages.
“It’s not a genre, it’s a lifestyle,” the organisers said.
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