34 Waenhout - Live Venue, Knysna

04/03/2026

Save the Date

25/02/2026

BOUTIQUE JAZZ FESTIVAL

Full Details and Line Up at : https://forestjazz.co.za
Tickets on Quicket : https://qkt.io/ForestJazzinMarch

24/02/2026

Boutique Jazz Festival
https://forestjazz.co.za

Presenting BITOU BLUE Quartet
MARLENE BOYCE – Vocals
MARTIN WOLFAARDT – Keyboard, Piano
WALDEMAR VAN WYK – Bass
JAMES VAN MINNEN – Drums & Percussion

SHOW TIME and TICKETS
Friday 20th March at 18:00, doors open at 17:00
General Access: Online R295+Q fee / Door R350
Table Access: Online R395+Q fee / Door R450
Quicket : https://qkt.io/ForestJazzinMarch

24/02/2026

Boutique Jazz Festival
https://forestjazz.co.za
Presenting the OUTENIQUA HIGH SCHOOL Jazz Bands

SHOW TIME and TICKETS
Saturday 21st March at 16:00, doors open at 15:00
General Access: Online R165+Q fee / Door R200
Table Access: Online R195+Q fee / Door R250
Quicket : https://qkt.io/ForestJazzinMarch

24/02/2026

Boutique Jazz Festival
https://forestjazz.co.za

Presenting OffShore Jazz Band Quintet

OVERVIEW
Offshore – referring to the prevailing wind loved by every surfer – came into being organically around 2005 when Martin Wolfaardt, Jonno Sweetman and Paul Gibbings turned listening sessions into extended jams – inspired by the jazz masters and by the Knysna forests that were their first audience.

Martin opened a venue in Plettenberg Bay around 2007 – the aptly named Surf Café – where itinerant musicians could drop in for a session. Offshore were able to learn from a series of wandering masters, including Gary Thomas – a leading interpreter of the music of Monk on guitar – and Sam Thomas – a Berklee alumni with a PhD in ethnomusicology who introduced the locals to Klezmer and Andalusian music. Local jazz legends also came to hear of a nascent scene on the Garden Route. Jams with Buddy Wells and Marcus Wyatt led to broader exposure and an invitation to play the Cape Town International Jazz Festival in 2008.

Offshore also met Jonathan Crossley who so enjoyed the unschooled freshness of their sound that he invited the trio to Johannesburg to collaborate on his funk jazz debut – Funk for The Shaolin Monk. That year the band also released their second album, Incident, featuring Wells and Crossley and Wyatt.

Performances at the Standard Bank National Arts Festival followed in 2011 and 2016 – the band also won funding from Swiss Helvetica for a South African tour in 2017. Over the years the joy that inevitably overflows when Offshore take the stage has inspired
regular reunions – each of which reflects the extraordinary evolution of the participating musicians and the organic growth of the original material that forms the basis for the improvised journeys they embark upon.

THE BAND
The present incarnation of the band comprises a handful of South Africa’s most adventurous and beloved cross-genre musicians.

BUDDY WELLS – Saxophones
JONNO SWEETMAN – Drums & Percussion
REZA KHOTA – Guitar
MARTIN WOLFHAARDT – Piano
ROB NEL – Bass Guitar

SHOW TIME and TICKETS
Saturday 21st March at 20:00, doors open at 19:00
General Access: Online R325+Q fee / Door R375
Table Access: Online R425+Q fee / Door R475
Quicket : https://qkt.io/ForestJazzinMarch

24/02/2026

Lets make a JAZZ TOUR of it

ForestJazz in Knysna and then onto Montreux in Franschhoek

LET’S GO MONTREUX! 🎷 Franschhoek

We’re sending one lucky pair to experience the first African edition of the Montreux Jazz Festival, live in Franschhoek.

Win two Prelude tickets for Saturday and enjoy a full day and night at the Arches Stage, from lunchtime to midnight, with access to every performance — including Malian Afro-pop legend , Mercury Prize-winning London jazz collective , Grammy-winning American pianist, producer and songwriter , South African jazz guitarist ’s Guitar Convergence, and Xhosa soul trailblazer and many more.

Here’s how to enter:

STEP ONE: Tag your +1 and tell us why they’re your ultimate festival date.
STEP TWO: Make sure you’re both following us and that you’ve both subscribed to our newsletter (link in bio: www.mjfsa.com).
STEP THREE: Share this post to your stories, tag us, and mention the act you’re most excited to see at Montreux Jazz Festival Franschhoek 2026.

Entries close Monday, 2 March.
Winners selected randomly. T’s & C’s apply.

See you under the Arches.

24/02/2026

💚🌿 🌊✨ | Welcome to beautiful Knysna — where forests meet the lagoon, beaches stretch for miles, and the sunrise stops you in your tracks.

We’re proud to be a water-wise destination, and we kindly ask that you use water thoughtfully during your stay. Here an equation to consider:

Shorter showers = more time to experience our destination.

Save water today so we can all enjoy this beautiful place tomorrow. 💧



Knysna Municipality Explore Knysna South Africa The Greater Knysna Business Chamber Garden Route & Klein Karoo Tourism Discoverctwc Visit South Africa South African Tourism UK

23/02/2026

Boutique Jazz Festival
https://forestjazz.co.za

Presenting OffShore Jazz Band Quintet

OVERVIEW
Offshore – referring to the prevailing wind loved by every surfer – came into being organically around 2005 when Martin Wolfaardt, Jonno Sweetman and Paul Gibbings turned listening sessions into extended jams – inspired by the jazz masters and by the Knysna forests that were their first audience.

Martin opened a venue in Plettenberg Bay around 2007 – the aptly named Surf Café – where itinerant musicians could drop in for a session. Offshore were able to learn from a series of wandering masters, including Gary Thomas – a leading interpreter of the music of Monk on guitar – and Sam Thomas – a Berklee alumni with a PhD in ethnomusicology who introduced the locals to Klezmer and Andalusian music. Local jazz legends also came to hear of a nascent scene on the Garden Route. Jams with Buddy Wells and Marcus Wyatt led to broader exposure and an invitation to play the Cape Town International Jazz Festival in 2008.

Offshore also met Jonathan Crossley who so enjoyed the unschooled freshness of their sound that he invited the trio to Johannesburg to collaborate on his funk jazz debut – Funk for The Shaolin Monk. That year the band also released their second album, Incident, featuring Wells and Crossley and Wyatt.

Performances at the Standard Bank National Arts Festival followed in 2011 and 2016 – the band also won funding from Swiss Helvetica for a South African tour in 2017. Over the years the joy that inevitably overflows when Offshore take the stage has inspired
regular reunions – each of which reflects the extraordinary evolution of the participating musicians and the organic growth of the original material that forms the basis for the improvised journeys they embark upon.

THE BAND
The present incarnation of the band comprises a handful of South Africa’s most adventurous and beloved cross-genre musicians.
BUDDY WELLS – Saxophones
JONNO SWEETMAN – Drums & Percussion
REZA KHOTA – Guitar
MARTIN WOLFHAARDT – Piano
ROB NEL – Bass Guitar

SHOW TIME and TICKETS
Saturday 21st March at 20:00, doors open at 19:00
General Access: Online R325+Q fee / Door R375
Table Access: Online R425+Q fee / Door R475
Quicket : https://qkt.io/ForestJazzinMarch