After eight years of hauling speakers up mountains, rigging line-arrays on wine farms, and making Bay Harbour Market shake every Friday night, we finally did it.
We built our own venue.
Welcome to The Loft – Rolling Audio’s brand-new 350-cap live music and events space tucked above the old fish factory in Hout Bay Harbour, literally 40 metres from where we mix Bay Harbour every week.
The doors officially opened on 28 November 2025 with a sold-out secret show by BCUC and we haven’t stopped grinning (or tweaking the system) since.
Why We Built The Loft
We were tired of compromising.
Tired of arriving at beautiful venues only to discover the PA is a pair of ancient wedges and a blown sub. Tired of explaining to international touring acts why the rider can’t be met in a wine cellar with a 3-metre ceiling. Tired of watching incredible Cape Town talent play to half-empty rooms because there was no mid-size room that actually sounded world-class.
So we stopped complaining and started building.
The Loft is the room we’ve always wished existed in Cape Town: intimate enough that you can see the sweat on the guitarist’s brow, but properly equipped so that sweat is backed by chest-pounding, pristine sound.
The Sound (Obviously)
We didn’t just install a system. We built the entire venue around the system.
- Main PA: d&b audiotechnik V-Series line array (the same boxes we use for 5 000-person outdoor festivals), flown and tuned specifically for this room.
- Subs: 8 × B22s in a cardioid arc under the stage. You’ll feel it in your soul and your neighbour’s wine glass won’t rattle.
- Monitoring: Full d&b M4 wedges + side-fills, plus a custom in-ear mix station because 2025.
- Acoustics: Designed with Martin Joubert from 4D Acoustics – variable panels, bass traps disguised as art, and a cloud that drops for electronic nights and lifts for jazz trios.
- The Rolling Touch: Our signature slow “Harbour Roll” LFO is now hard-wired into the house processor. The room literally breathes with the night.
The first artist to sound-check (Jeremy Loops doing a surprise solo set) just looked at us and said: “This is the best-sounding room I’ve ever played in South Africa.” We cried a little.
The Vibe
Walk up the steel staircase from the harbour parking lot and you’re hit with ocean air, salt, and the smell of new wood. Inside:
- A 12-metre bar made from reclaimed fishing boat planks
- A mezzanine balcony that wraps around the stage (perfect for dancers or introverts)
- A rooftop deck for pre- and post-show sundowners with the Sentinel lit up behind you
- Street-food pop-ups rotating weekly (think bao, bunny chow, and proper tacos – no sad venue burgers here)
- Local art on the walls (first exhibition curated by Jack Fox)
Capacity is capped at 350 because we never want you to queue for the bar or the loo. Ever.
More Than Just Gigs
The Loft isn’t only about concerts. From January we’ll host:
- Vinyl listening sessions every Tuesday (bring your own or spin ours)
- Free weekly jam nights (house band + full backline provided)
- EP launch residency series for emerging Cape Town acts
- Private hires – weddings, brand launches, 50th birthdays that deserve proper sound