In case you haven’t heard of it, JawFest is the most successful tiny music festival ever. But then, it’d have to be, being that it’s the only one of its kind.

The origin is like something out of an indie film: 4 music fans decided that it was unacceptable that one of their friends would have to miss Woodstock 2 years ago and so they set out to create a music festival of their own in somebody’s garden. And that’s exactly what they did.

By calling in favours, a sound system was procured, and they managed to convince musicians to play for free. Including Tim Kroon of Heroes Wear Red and David Baudains of New Academics.

It may be small, but JawFest has all the features of any music festival. There are the bands, the beer, the braais, and even camping, so nobody needs to drive home after it’s over.

The party was deemed a success, and since then has happened several more times, on an irregular basis, but growing every time. The only publicity has been through Facebook, Twitter and by word-of-mouth.

JawFest has so far seen the likes of Myepic, Future Records and Holly & The Woods playing, mostly acoustically, on its very small stage. JawFest has also been proud to host SAMA nominated acts like Underbelly (playing their first unplugged show ever) and Lindsay McGuire. And the best part is, it’s all free. The next JawFest already has several artistes of this calibre already confirmed, although the organisers prefer to keep the line-up a secret to add to the mystique.

And on the subject of the line-up, this is what the organisers have to say: “It’s not just about bands, you know? We also want to encourage people who’ve never played in front of a crowd to step up and play a debut gig. In the ever changing music scene JawFest has become a way for new bands to showcase their talents or to hone their live skills in a relaxed and positive environment.”

The 6th JawFest will be happening in Midrand on the 24th of October this year. For more information visit www.facebook.com/jawfest. To make a submission to perform or for location details email cyril@nativenoise.co.za.