Reggae artist Bunny Wailer will headline the 2007 Kolohe Festival. It took Bunny Wailer more than three decades to make his Hawaii debut. This weekend, the surviving member of the Wailers returns to Oahu, just 2 1/2 years after performing at the Waikiki Shell. He’ll headline the 2007 Kolohe Festival with Steel Pulse and Midnite on Friday and Saturday at Hawaiian Waters Adventure Park.
‘Follow Di Arrow’ unites the music
It was another successful year for Decky Promotion’s Magnum ‘Follow Di Arrow – Unite The Music’, held last Saturday at the James Bond Beach in Oracabessa, St. Mary, as the event, though missing a few billed acts, still managed to thrill the hundreds who turned out despite the rain. Among those missing in action were Elephant Man, who was reportedly still abroad trying to tie up some loose ends with his album, and Spice who promoter Dexton Ennis said was at the venue but due to time constraints, her performance did not materialise.
Levi Roots has proved you don’t need to be a business whiz to slay the Dragons’ Den millionaires. Viewers of the BBC2 show, which sees business hopefuls pitching for cash backing from rich “dragonsâ€, were stunned when the dreadlocked musician won a £50,000 investment. His pitch had seemed shambolic, kicking off with a rendition of a cheeky jingle on guitar to promote his product — Reggae Reggae Sauce.
Ragga Muffins Festival nurtures reggae’s roots
“Who likes roots music? Who’s a roots lover?” asked dreadlocked master of ceremonies Spliff Skanking. It was a purely rhetorical question, seeing as how almost every single person in the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium was there specifically to hear reggae music of the traditional variety. Nevertheless, the crowd let out a mighty roar, like the iconic Conquering Lion itself.
Diaspora expressed through film, music – The Brown and White
As part of the College of Arts and Science’s project “Diaspora: Re-Imagining Cultural Space,†the Philip and Muriel Berman Center for Jewish Studies recently sponsored a film and a musical performance to explore the concept of diaspora.
Awake Zion
Joseph Israel, the Jewish Bob Marley of Arkansas, will bring his music and message to the Urban Lounge this Saturday as part of his tour promoting his new album, Gone Are the Days. Recorded in reggae’s legendary Tuff Gong studio in Kingston, Jamaica, Gone Are the Days is being praised in the reggae community as a masterpiece.
Reggae Sauce star is hot stuff
Dragons’ Den Rasta Levi Roots is on a mission to spice up the pop charts – by reaching No1 with his Reggae Reggae Sauce tune. He’s become a cult star after serenading the millionaire investors on the hit BBC2 show before agreeing a £50,000 deal. And now he hopes to storm the charts with the a full-length version of the catchy jingle about ‘putting music in your food’.
Marlon ‘Malo’ Webster took the 2007 Carib Soca Monarch title in a landslide on Sunday night, with an energetic, creative and intense presentation that captured the imagination of the judges and the hearts and souls of the crowd. Until ‘Malo’ stepped onto the National Park stage asking those present to “Give it to Me”, no artiste had really energized and thrilled the crowd.
Strip Tease: a star-studded night
Last Saturday’s staging of ‘Strip Tease 3, Jungle Extasy’ at the Students’ Activity Centre, UTech, featured some hot performances on stage from not only billed acts, but also from a couple surprise ones as well. At 2:43 a.m., after the likes of Razz and Biggy, Renaissance, Swatch International and other selectors stabilised an early vibe, Turbulence was first to open the live performances with a Notorious entry and was even recalled after his initial exit to leave his Name And Number.
The trademark dredlocks and energetic movements are still intact. While Apache Indian may have disappeared off India’s burgeoning music scene, he’s hardly been idle; he’s been busy recording with the likes of UB40, Maxi Priest and Shaggy. Widely credited for having introduced Indians to a different style of reggae, his superhits Chak De, Arrange Marriage and Boomshackalak found admirers in Beyonce Knowles and Sean Paul, with whom he toured recently.