When Rum.Gold first toured South Africa in 2023, I missed the Johannesburg leg. Not wanting to miss out entirely, I turned it into a whole mission: I booked a flight to Cape Town to catch up with my sister and finally see him live. But life had other plans; as I landed, my sister had to pivot, leaving me at her home alone. I didn’t mind the quiet downtime at all, until I opened my email inbox. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Rum.Gold’s performance has been cancelled. All refunds are being processed.
My heart genuinely sank. I was already here, and the two main reasons for being here no longer existed. He later scheduled another date for when I would be back in Joburg. I accepted that I would not see him, but struggled to listen to his music afterwards.
Fast forward to 2026
I saw he would be in Joburg when I was still on my birthday vacation. I quickly let that go, then a friend sent me a post that stated that he was extending his stay. Three performances were eventually scheduled, and we camped on his Instagram for the date and venue of his performance. Less than an hour after announcing the first performance date, the tickets were sold out. We were part of the gang with the quickest fingers.
The second and third dates were announced. As soon as we got those tickets, I had a date night outfit in mind, and I listened to my favorite Rum.Gold jams again. The countdown began.
14 October 2026
The OOTN was a red, long, body-hugging dress, and cream white heels with a tan bag. This date was serious, lol. I later ditched the heels for gold slippers, which panned out to be a good idea. This was also my first time at Untitled Basement; I had seen it a lot on social media, and it was great to finally be there in person. The setup there is intimate, and they announced that it was first come, first served, so it was nearly full when we arrived around 7 pm. And as usual, we were all dressed to the 9’s. From earthy palettes to golds and glitters, heels to loafers, my fellow Joburgers dressed up and showed up. We managed to get seats on a couch which offered the perfect view of the stage.
And then there was Rum, with the Golden Voice
After an hour of catching up with my friend over drinks, he arrived right on time. 8 PM, Rum.Gold was on stage, and from the very first note I got goosebumps. He started his set with “Fix Me” from his 2021 album, Thicker Than Water. What started as an acoustic version was joined by instruments that complemented his angelic, ethereal voice.
Then he greeted us with a deep voice. A juxtaposition to the mind, because how is his talking voice that deep? Then we moved on to other jams like “Call It What You Want”, followed by “Save You”, “Hazel Chandeliers”, “Human”, and some of the songs from his latest album, Is There Anybody Home?.
In between his set, he asked us for song requests because he obviously couldn’t sing all the songs on his catalogue in an hour. I thought this was a beautiful gesture. He sang the requested songs acoustically with us singing along and attempting to sound as ethereal as he was. Someone in the crowd requested “Blessed”, I felt my heart burst open when he sang that song. And then he also sang “AM/FM”, another fave that nearly got me in tears. I also loved how he shared stories about his life and how the songs came to being. “AM/FM” was apparently born from his divorce. We all gasped for air when he said that, because what do you mean you were married, chomi Gold? I guess that’s the blessing of intimate settings, right?
The Gold at the end of the Show
Almost an hour later, the show came to an end. His finale song was another fave of mine, “Thank You”. One thing I love about the Joburg crowd? We will sing along to every song and to the beat where there are no lyrics. At the end of the song, as he was thanking his band, a fan came to the stage and gave him a bouquet of flowers, and Rum Gold burst into tears. We gave him a standing ovation, and he walked off stage with our hearts full.
Just as we were about to take one last sip of our drinks and head home, they announced that there was a photo op with Rum.Gold. I mean, could this night get any better? He is such a cute human, cute poses and all.
I’m so glad I got to create new memories of his music, and best of all, with someone who also felt the same way about the music and the artist. 14 October 2026, you have a special place in my heart, and you were so worth the wait.
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