Hartbeespoort musician and restaurant owner, Michael Varalla could not believe his ears when he heard that the ‘dad band’ of which he is a member had won an Afri-Indie Award for Best Newcomers!

Michael Varalla in front, with band members Raymond Ray, Philip James Thomas and Theo Swanepoel.

What started off as a gimmick, has unexpectedly put this dad and his fellow band members in the South African music industry spotlight.
“This is crazy. From unwillingly taking part in a Father’s Day promotion to releasing singles and winning a music award… wow!” says Michael.
Just to recap: Michael became a well-known name to radio listeners when he was chosen as one of four dads to form South Africa’s first “dad” band. In 2024, just before Father’s Day, Breakfast with Martin Bester searched far and wide to find the perfect four dads to form its very own dad band. And one of them was Michael. The four dads chosen for The Dadness Band made their performance debut on Breakfast with Martin Bester’s Friday Live in June last year. It was received with great enthusiasm and things did not end there. What was supposed to be a gimmick for Father’s Day took an unexpected turn. The Dadness became so popular that it was decided to release the song as a single ‘Take Me Back’ in January 2025. It reached number one on the radio station’s music chart. This led to their second single, “18 Till I Die,” which was released shortly before Father’s Day in June.
And then The Dadness was nominated for the Afri-Indie Independent Artist Awards in two categories and won the Best Newcomers Award!
“This is so unexpected. The awards ceremony was a beautiful event. Everything was in Afrikaans, so I really had to concentrate,” he laughs.
Music has been part of Michael’s life since he was young. He sings, plays bass guitar, keyboards and drums. “I was in a band but stopped performing when I was 30.”
Could this unexpected return to the music scene and the award cause a career change down the road? “No way! We have quite a few gigs and we hope to join the big festivals next year, but this is just fun. Music is something I love and enjoy, but it will always be something on the side. I think all of us in the band feel this way. I am concentrating on my restaurant now. I just want to have fun.”