By Marley
Goodbye doesn’t always mean the end of things. This is how I felt as we attended Jonathan Peyper’s ‘farewell’ show at The Pub on Friday 31 January 2020. The last time Jonathan left his hometown to chase his dreams, he managed to record and release his first album, got on the Rock Blues Review top albums chart, met the love of his life and recorded a second album. Now Jonathan is on a new adventure and this chapter is one we won’t be missing out on.
Arriving on a classic humidity January evening at The Pub, the mood was quite set in to relax with a hint of blues rock. Along with Al Laxton, bassist and Robby Johns, on drums, the band set out to entertain the crowd with both original and cover songs. In true Peyper style, he shredded and played his guitar till his fingertips were almost bleeding. Much to the enjoyment of Hendrix fans, Peyper shared his love for the artist with all of us.
Al Laxton (photo by Small Town Music) 
Robby Johns (photo by Small Town Music)
The evening was a well worth evening so early in 2020, although the attendance could be a little more I understood that it was a very busy weekend in the Lowveld when it came to gigs. Good news for the Lowveld, not always good for all the musicians. But I want to thank the people who on a continuous basis support the local venues and live music scene in the Lowveld. Thank you.
If you are wondering why Peyper is moving house, he has joined the team behind the tribute concert series. The concert series, which pays tribute to artists like Bryan Adams, Lenny Kravitz, Bob Marley and bands like Guns ‘n Roses, Deep Purple, Pink Floyd and AC/DC is embarking on a large South African tour. Including talks of playing overseas! At the beginning of Peyper’s career, he did indeed played for a tribute band called Guns ‘n Posers and did Slash excellently back then.
I do have good news for the Lowveld, Jonathan will be coming back as part of the tribute shows at The Barnyard at Casterbridge, White River. Tickets for these shows are already available and we will add them on the Small Town Music event calendar. We will keep you up to date with these events.
So Jonathan might have said farewell to living in Nelsparta (again) but he will always be a much loved Lowveld boy. I’m excited for his future in music.
