Stash Crew and Umlilo present RAINBOW RIOTS at the Alexander Upstairs

Music meets performance art in Stash Crew and Umlilo's hour long RAINBOW RIOTS, which will be presented at the Alexander Bar for two nights in collaboration with POPart Productions.

RAINBOW RIOTS is a live music and performance art extravaganza exploring all the spectrum of the rainbow nation. No topic is off bounds, no fashion is faux pas and reading is fundamental. Original music and visual eleganza is mandatory. Avant-garde muso-performance artists Stash Crew and Mzansi Kwaai Diva Umlilo bring audiences a unique potjie of lush electronic sounds, biting political commentary and a fierce re-imagining of the apocalypse as we know it: somewhere over the rainbow the sky is blue smoke and teargas, while undercover brothers and sisters lurk in dark corners of electronic dance floors and queer glitter anarchy ensues on the streets.

The Johannesburg-based Stash Crew is a performance art inspired electro rap crew. The crew undertakes a satirical approach to exploring South African politics, identity, sexuality, class issues and rainbow nation disillusionment through cutting lyrics, electro beats and a surreal visual statement. Launched in early 2014, Stash Crew is made up of three main characters: Sybil Whyt-lyon, the Black Diamond Butterfly and Missy Phaya Fly, with beats created by Sista Beats Hlasko. Stash Crew hopes to takes its audiences on a journey that will leave them shocked, inspired, dancing and laughing hard. All the members of the crew are part of the LGBTQ+ community and work to raise awareness on equality through performance. Stash Crew's much awaited EP, ORIGINS, will be launched in August 2016.

Multi-disciplinary performance artist and Mzansi's kwaai diva, Umlilo, brings an avant-garde aesthetic, an eclectic mix of booty popping post kwaito sounds with lush dark compositions that have been heard internationally. The gender bending performer and producer's signature sound dubbed as 'future kwaai' explores and pushes the boundaries of electronic alt-pop music in contemporary South Africa and has been a regular fixture in the international music community. Umlilo released her second EP, ALUTA in 2015 and featured the Bokeh Award nominated single "Chain Gang". Her music video "Magic Man"debuted in the United States of America, while her latest single, "Umzabalazo" will be out in August 2016.

RAINBOW RIOTS runs at the Alexander Bar's Upstairs Theatre on 12 - 13 August at 21:00. Tickets for THE EMISSARY cost R90-R100 and can be booked online at the Alexander Bar website or purchased at the bar. For telephone bookings and enquiries, call 021 300 1652. Alexander Bar & Café is situated at 76 Strand Street in the Cape Town city centre and can be followed on Facebook and Twitter.