If songs could talk, they’d probably sound a lot like this conversation — a little nostalgic, a little cheeky, and packed with stories you didn’t realise you were carrying around.
In Country Through the Ages, radio personalities and award-winning performers Gerrit (Gertjie ou buddy, ou pjel) de Jager and Chantelle Bosch aren’t just revisiting old hits; they’re unpacking the soundtracks of people’s lives, writes GARY HEMMINGS
What story is Country Through the Ages trying to tell us?
Gerrit: "Country Through the Ages is a love letter to the people who grew up with these songs and to the stories behind them.
“It shows how country music has always been about real life — the good, the bad, the stupid mistakes and the second chances.
“We’re trying to show how the music grew with us and how it still fits with where people are now.“
You’re walking audiences through decades of songs they grew up with. When people leave after the show, what would you love them to feel?
Chantelle: “I hope they feel both comforted and somewhat healed. These songs carry so many memories — weddings, road trips, heartbreaks — and if people can laugh, cry and sing along, they go home knowing they weren’t alone in any of it.”
You both come from strong radio backgrounds. How has working in radio influenced the way you structure Country Through the Ages?
Gerrit: “Radio teaches you about energy and timing. On a breakfast show you’ve got a few minutes to change somebody’s mood before they hit the robot, so you learn where to lift, where to breathe, and when to hit hard.
“We’ve used that same rhythm in the show — there are bangers where you want to stand on your chair, and there are quiet moments where we just let a story land.”
This production deals a lot with memory — of people, places and seasons. Is there one moment in the show that’s especially personal to you?
Chantelle: “There’s a simple, old‑school country ballad in the show that reminds me of being a teenager listening to RSG and dreaming about being on those playlists one day.”
For someone sitting at home thinking, ‘Do I really want to go out tonight?’, what would you say makes this particular show worth it?
Gerrit: “You can sit at home and scroll on your phone like every other night, or you can come sit in a room full of people who know the same words you do and sing them at the top of your lungs.
“You’re not just buying a ticket for a show, you’re buying three hours where you forget about load-shedding, emails and petrol prices.”
You’re both proudly from the Eastern Cape. What parts of your upbringing still show very clearly in who you are on stage today?
Chantelle: “Being from here keeps you honest. People in Nelson Mandela Bay have watched me since I was a little girl with a mic, so there’s no space for a diva attitude.
“I think that down‑to‑earth Eastern Cape thing — greeting people by name, caring about their stories, comes through strongly in how I perform.”
What do you remember most about that first moment you stepped in front of a microphone and it really meant something?
Gerrit: “I remember that insane stage at the canoe club — about 3km high — and my heart beating in my throat.
“I sang Green Green Grass of Home and this lady came to me afterwards with tears in her eyes and said it was her late husband’s favourite song.
“I drove home with a bad burger and R50 in my pocket, thinking, ‘If a song can do that to someone, this might actually be what I’m supposed to do’.”
Before radio and big stages, you both tried other work — from family businesses and UK sales jobs to backing‑vocal sessions. At what point did you realise entertainment wasn’t just a phase, but your actual path?
Chantelle: “For me it was a slow accumulation. Studio sessions, backing vocals, long drives to small‑town shows — at some point you realise that even on the most exhausting days, you’d still rather be tired from singing than fresh from anything else."
Looking back over your career, what are some moments you still see as turning points — the kind that quietly changed the whole direction of your life?
Gerrit: “First big turning point was March 13 2006, that decision to crush the drugs, throw them in the air and sing Closer My Lord to Thee’. Everything good since then sits on that decision.
“Professionally, moving to LuisterFM and seeing songs like Dear Beyoncé and my latest single actually top charts was another moment where I thought, ‘OK, this is not just a joke anymore’.”
You both sing other styles, but country keeps calling you back. When did you first feel that country music was a part of who you are?
Chantelle: “For me it goes right back to being a little girl with a microphone singing country standards.
“Even when I experiment with other genres, the storytelling style, the melodies I gravitate to, the way I phrase things, it all comes from country. It’s not a hat I put on; it’s part of my DNA.”
You’ve shared stages with some of SA’s biggest country names over the years. Can you think of a moment with a legend that shifted how you think about your craft?
Gerrit: “I’ll never forget Lance James coming to me backstage after a show and saying, ‘My boy, if you stop singing, I’m going to kill you.’
Then he went to my dad and told him he should be proud but push me further.
“When a man of that stature says that, you either laugh it off or you take it seriously. I chose the second.”
The Eastern Cape isn’t always seen as the industry’s centre, yet you’ve built national profiles from here. What have been the toughest parts of doing that, and what advantages have you discovered?
Chantelle: “It can be lonely professionally, because you’re doing national‑level work from a city that isn’t always on the industry map.
“But the advantage is that your support base is real. People have watched me grow up, they know my family, they know my story.
“When something good happens, it feels like a community celebration.”
Between you, there’s a shelf of SACMAF (country music awards) trophies. What do they represent in terms of the work and years behind them?
Gerrit: “They represent every late night, every risk where the bank balance said ‘don’t do it’ and we did it anyway, and every time I kept talking when it would have been easier to keep quiet.”
What does a normal work week look like?
Chantelle: “My week revolves around Sunday, but there’s a lot before that.
“I spend time listening to new music, compiling playlists for radio, doing interviews, and fitting live performances around that.
“There’s also normal life — errands, family, catching my breath.”
Social media has added another layer for you, Gerrit, with ‘Ou Buddy/Ou Pjel’ and viral clips. How has that online presence changed the way people approach you?
Gerrit: “It’s made the world very small. You walk into a shop and someone goes, ‘Ou Buddy, I saw that TikTok about men’s mental health!’
“People feel like they know you because they’ve watched you in their lounge.
“It’s beautiful, but it also means you have to be very aware of what you say or do in public.”
Gerrit, you speak very honestly about addiction, trauma and faith. What makes you choose to share a particular painful story publicly?
“I always ask myself two questions: ‘Is this going to help someone, or am I just bleeding on people?’ and ‘Can I speak about it without falling apart in a way that puts the focus back on them, not on me?’
“If the answer is yes, then I’ll talk. If I’m still too raw, I’ll rather park it until I can tell it with some hope attached.”
Catch Country Through the Ages at Centrestage at Baywest at 7.30pm on Saturday and 2pm on Sunday.
Tickets, available through Quicket or Wendy on 083-225-5401, cost between R160 and R180 per person.
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