The Bassline live

music venue A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from a small coffeehouse for folk music shows, an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Ty ...

and club was established in 1994 in the Melville neighborhood of

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, South Africa. The venue closed in 2003 and reopened the following year in the downtown Newtown Cultural Precinct, featuring a concert venue with a capacity of 1000 and a performing space with 150 seats. In its 24-year history, Bassline hosted over 3200 concerts featuring many emerging music acts and well-known South African, African, and global music icons. Musicians who have played at Bassline include

Hugh Masekela Hugh Ramapolo Masekela (4 April 1939 – 23 January 2018) was a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, singer and composer who was described as "the father of South African jazz". Masekela was known for his jazz compositions and f ...

Miriam Makeba Zenzile Miriam Makeba ( , ; 4 March 1932 – 9 November 2008), nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer, songwriter, actress, and civil rights activist. Associated with musical genres including African popular music, Afropop, ja ...

Johnny Clegg Jonathan Paul Clegg, (7 June 195316 July 2019) was a South African musician, singer-songwriter, dancer, anthropologist and Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist. He first performed as part of a duo - ''Johnny & Sipho'' - ...

, Vusi Mahlasela, Zim Ngqawana, Moses Molelekwa, Paul Hanmer, Marcus Wyatt, Tumi and the Volume and Jimmy Dludlu, among others. Many popular albums were recorded live at the Bassline, and the record company of the same name became a fixture in the Johannesburg music scene. Vusi Mahlasela and

Louis Mhlanga Louis Mhlanga (born 10 November 1956) is a Zimbabwean artist based in South Africa, an award-winning guitarist and producer. Mhlanga taught himself to play the guitar at a young age and is considered one of the best Southern African guitarists ...

recorded their live album '' Live at the Bassline'' in 1999. From 2017, Bassline evolved into Bassline Live, producing and promoting live concerts for broadcast and live audiences. Bassline Live hosts regular performances at Johannesburg's Lyric Theatre at

Gold Reef City Gold Reef City is an amusement park in Johannesburg, South Africa. Located on an old gold mine which closed in 1971, the park is themed around the gold rush that started in 1886 on the Witwatersrand, and the buildings in the park are designed ...

, as well as annual festivals - Bassline Festival held on the Saturday closest to the

Africa Union The African Union (AU) is a continental union of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. The AU was announced in the Sirte Declaration in Sirte, Libya, on 9 September 1999, calling for the establishment of the African Union. The ...

's official

Africa Day Africa Day (formerly African Freedom Day and African Liberation Day) is the annual commemoration of the foundation of the Organization of African Unity on 25 May 1963. It is celebrated in various countries on the African continent as well as ...

on 25 May, Bassline Summer Fest in December, and the Fete de la Musique Festival for the French Institute of South Africa. Bassline's history is chronicled in ''Last Night at the Bassline'', by David B. Coplan & Oscar Gutierrez.

References

Culture of Johannesburg Music venues in South Africa Music venues completed in 1994 1994 establishments in South Africa 20th-century architecture in South Africa {{SouthAfrica-struct-stub