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Once Upon a Time;Worth every pothole and rand
SiR brought Joburg to its knees on May 23. But a great concert is always bigger than just the headliner.
The Location: A 7 Out of 10, and That Is Being Generous
Rosefield Equestrian Club in Centurion is the kind of venue that photographs beautifully. Open air, spacious, a little bit fancy. But getting there and back? That is a different story entirely. The location sits far enough from Joburg proper that you feel every kilometre, and once you arrive, your phone signal vanishes completely. No network. No Instagram stories. No Uber tracking. Just you, the music, and the mild panic of wondering if your friends made it in.
The traffic going in was heavy. The traffic going out was the kind that tests relationships. Standing in the dark, waiting in a long slow crawl of cars after an emotionally charged evening, is not the post concert experience anyone dreams about. Doctor Bird Productions put together a genuinely beautiful event but the logistics of getting people in and out safely and efficiently is a conversation that needs to happen before the next edition.
The Music: This Is Exactly What R&B Was Made For
If you came for the music, you left full. This was an R&B concert that actually understood what R&B is supposed to feel like. Warm. Intimate. Emotionally honest. The artists and DJs collectively made sure there was not a single dead moment throughout the day, and the crowd felt every bit of it.
Ms Shelby did something remarkable. She had people in their feelings and on their feet at the exact same time, which is genuinely difficult to do. You were crying and dancing in the same breath. Manana brought a softness that felt like the first day of being in love all over again. People were leaning into each other, smiling at strangers, lost in it completely. Then Lia Butler arrived and shook the whole thing up. She commanded that stage with a confidence that made the crowd erupt, and online reactions after the show reflected exactly that, with fans calling her set a standout moment and praising how fully she owned every second of her time on stage.
“Ms Shelby had people crying and dancing at the same time. Manana made strangers fall in love. Lia Butler walked out and took everything up three notches.”
Thando Zide also deserves her flowers. Her performance was genuinely impressive and she held her own on a lineup that had very high expectations attached to every single slot. She brought something warm and real to the stage, the kind of set that makes you pull out your phone to look up the artist the second it ends. If you were not already a fan going in, you were one by the time she walked off.
The DJs were seamless throughout. They read the crowd well, kept the transitions tight, and made sure the energy never dipped between sets. That is a skill that often goes unappreciated, and they deserved every round of applause they got.
The Setup: Two Bars and Enough Food Stalls to Keep Everyone Happy
Here is something event organisers often get wrong and Once Upon a Time got right. There were two general access bars spread across the venue, which meant nobody spent the better part of their evening in a queue. The food stalls were in good supply too, with enough variety and enough of them that people could grab something to eat without missing a significant portion of the show. These details matter more than they get credit for. When the logistics work, people relax. When people relax, they connect with the music more deeply. The team clearly thought this through.
And then there were the little extras that nobody was expecting but everyone needed. There were games scattered around the grounds and a jumping castle that brought out a side of the crowd that no amount of smooth R&B alone could have unlocked. Grown adults queuing for a jumping castle, laughing like they were ten years old again. It was nostalgic in the most beautiful way, a reminder that sometimes the best thing a concert can do is give you permission to just be free and silly for a moment. The inner child in the room was fully activated.
The art walls were another thoughtful touch. Artwork from the performing artists was displayed throughout the venue, giving people something to stop and sit with between sets. It added a layer of culture and intention to the day that elevated it beyond just a music event. And for those who had been silently panicking about their phone battery dying in a no network zone, the charging stations dotted around the venue were a genuine lifesaver. They came at a small cost but in a place where you had no signal to call your friends or coordinate your exit, keeping your phone alive was not a luxury. It was a necessity. Smart move from the organisers.
The Headliner: SiR Did Not Just Show Up, He Showed Out
Before SiR even set foot on that stage, the crowd was already doing the work for him. For a good 15 to 20 minutes before he came on, the audience was singing his music acappella in the dark. Full songs. Every word. Strangers singing to each other, arms around shoulders, voices rising together into the night air. It was one of those moments that reminds you what live music actually does to people. Nobody asked them to. Nobody prompted it. They just loved the music that much, and they could not wait any longer to let it out.
Before the concert, fans had already been buzzing online about what SiR would bring to the stage. His catalogue, spanning albums like November, Chasing Summer, and his 2024 release Heavy, has soundtracked some of the most personal moments in people’s lives. Hair Down, John Redcorn, Ooh Nah Nah. These are songs people have wept to, driven to, healed to. And he performed them all.
“He paused mid show, got quiet, got real, and took a moment to honour the people he has lost. The whole crowd held its breath.”
But the moment nobody expected was the tribute. He stopped. He got quiet. He got honest about grief and loss in a way that made the entire field go still. That kind of vulnerability from an artist on stage is rare and it is everything. People were not just watching anymore. They were standing there with him in it.
And then the almost heart attack. He wrapped his set without performing D’Evils. People were already moving toward the exits, murmuring, slightly devastated. Then he came back. The opening of D’Evils hit the speakers and the crowd absolutely lost its mind. It was the kind of concert moment you will be describing to people for years. He told fans before the show that D’Evils is always in his back pocket. He was not lying.
And before we move on, we need to talk about the jacket. Before the concert, a very vocal and very passionate section of the crowd had already made it known online that they were hoping SiR would perform with his shirt off. He walked out in a jacket. There was a collective murmur of mild disappointment rippling through certain parts of the field. And then, mid set, he ripped it off. The reaction was immediate and it was loud. Women were on their feet. Screaming. Fully unhinged in the best possible way. It was a moment that had nothing to do with the music and everything to do with the full experience of being at a live show, and SiR, whether intentional or not, absolutely delivered on that front too.
The Uber Situation: Close to a Thousand Rands Is Not Okay
We have to say it plainly. After everything, the surge pricing was brutal. Rides were approaching a thousand rands for many people trying to get home, and for the students and young working adults who make up a significant portion of this crowd, that is not just an inconvenience. That is a real financial hit. You budget for your ticket. You budget for drinks and food. You do not budget for a single Uber ride that costs as much as a week of groceries. The organisers cannot control Uber pricing, but they can think harder about transport solutions for future events, whether that is shuttle partnerships, coordinated group transport options, or simply choosing a venue that does not leave people stranded in a surge zone.
The Spirit of the Day: This Concert Was Ruled by Girlhood
If the music was the heartbeat of Once Upon a Time, then the women in that crowd were its soul. This concert was ruled by girlhood in the most beautiful and full sense of the word. Girls were looking out for each other all day long. Strangers checking in on strangers. Someone fixing another person’s outfit, someone else making sure their friend got home safe. There was a warmth and a solidarity moving through that crowd that felt like something rare and intentional. Women loved on each other openly and unapologetically throughout the entire day. They sang together, they cried together, they danced together, and they held each other up. In a world that does not always give women permission to take up space and be soft at the same time, that field in Centurion was a full permission slip. It was one of the most quietly powerful things about the whole experience, and it deserves to be said out loud.
Overall: A Great Night With a Few Lessons Still to Learn
Once Upon a Time in Joburg is doing something genuinely special for the R&B scene in South Africa. Doctor Bird Productions is building something with real soul and real intention, and it shows in every detail of how the music side of the event is put together. The performances were memorable. The headliner was everything. The food and bar setup worked.
Sort out the transport. Work on the network access. Bring the venue closer to the people. Do those things, and this concert series becomes completely untouchable.
