Southern Wild Unplugged

Hailing from Cape Town’s vibrant music scene, Southern Wild has spent the past decade evolving, transcending genres, and captivating audiences with their unique confluence of alternative rock, post-rock, neo-soul, and folk. Hot off the release of their long-awaited new album, The Art Of Feeling Nothing on October 30th, the band is stepping into their most re-energised, honest, and thrilling chapter yet, fuelled by ten years of resilience, passion, and artistic integrity.

More on the Show:

For one night only at The Alma Cafe, Southern Wild is trading in their signature wall of sound for an intimate, stripped-back evening. Expect raw, unfiltered emotion as the newly minted four-piece reimagines their catalogue and shares the personal stories, inspirations, and behind-the-scenes moments that shaped the new record.

Join us for a rare, heartfelt storyteller session that captures the raw grit and soulful grace of the band's ten-year journey in a truly personal setting.

Tickets R250pp (show only)

18h30 for 19h00 (kitchen orders close at 19h00)

*Live Music Starts AFTER Dinner Service is completed*

Dinner, Dessert and Drinks available

Fully Licensed, BYOB not permitted

Any Food / Beverage Not permitted unless by prior arrangement

Card / Cash (preferred) Payment

15% Service Fee Charged

About the album:

Over the past decade, Cape Town alternative rock outfit Southern Wild has quietly established itself as one of South Africa's most compelling live bands. Since emerging in 2015, the quartet has carved out a sound that effortlessly blends alternative rock, post-rock, neo-soul and folk, earning slots on the main stages of festivals including Up The Creek, Rocking the Daisies, Smoking Dragon and Oppikoppi, while also sharing stages with international icons Incubus and The Cure during their South African tours.

Just as the band appeared poised to reach new heights, the world came to a standstill.

Midway through recording their long-awaited sophomore album, the COVID-19 pandemic brought everything to an abrupt halt. Momentum disappeared almost overnight, and in the years that followed, life took the band members in different directions. Frontman Dave spent four years living in Zambia, while changing priorities and circumstances kept the album on hold.

But the songs never disappeared. Instead, they patiently waited until the band was ready to return.

The result is The Art Of Feeling Nothing, an album that became an unexpected six-year journey and, ultimately, a document of everything Southern Wild experienced along the way.

"The album was never intended to become a timeline, but that's exactly what happened. The first half reflects who we were before life pulled us in different directions, while the second half reflects who we became after finding our way back. Above everything else, The Art Of Feeling Nothing is a deeply human album. It isn't a snapshot of who we were at one point in time—it's the sound of who we became while trying to finish it." – Dave Van Vuuren

Recording first began in 2019 with acclaimed producer Theo Crous as Southern Wild balanced day jobs, rehearsals, and late-night studio sessions with the excitement of creating their second full-length record. What followed was never part of the plan.

The first five songs were written before life scattered the band in different directions, while the final four emerged years later, after they found their way back to one another. Together, they offer two distinct perspectives, one written from within a close-knit community, the other from the experience of looking back from the outside.

Without intending to, The Art Of Feeling Nothing became a bridge between two chapters of the band's life while remaining unmistakably Southern Wild.

The album's title reflects the tension between staying connected to the parts of ourselves that make us feel alive and the ways modern life slowly teaches us to suppress them. Whether through routine, responsibility, information overload or simply growing older, the record explores those moments where feeling less becomes a way of coping.

Rather than offering answers, the songs invite listeners to discover their own meaning within the music.