Roots reggae come to warm up Fairbanks

Let’s face it. With spring coming in at a snail’s pace, Fairbanksans could benefit from a little more warmth. From Seattle via Jamaica, Clinton “Basie” Fearon and his Boogie Brown Band can’t guarantee that they’ll bring warm weather up when they play The Blue Loon on Friday. But according to Fearon, they “sure do have a warm vibe.”

What Fearon will bring with him is an extensive resume consisting of real-deal reggae. The singer/songwriter, guitarist and percussionist started out on bass guitar, playing for Jamaica’s The Gladiators in the early ’70s.

Dubbin’ It Live

MVD and Funky Gemini are pleased to announce the home viewing release of Black Uhuru with Sly & Robbie – Dubbin’ It Live for North American distribution on DVD.

Through the late 80′s and 90′s, Sly & Robbie focused on studio work and revolutionized Jamaican music by turning Reggae into Dancehall. They introduced such acts as Chaka Demus & Pliers, Beenie Man and Elephant Man, produced Simply Red, the Fugees, Sting, and even found time to put out decisive records such as the Grammy winner Friends.

Morgan Heritage – The path

Morgan Heritage are more than just a legendary reggae band. They’re a revolution, a family, a force of nature, and a crew of five independent artistes on a musical mission. With Full Circle, their seventh album for VP Records, Morgan Heritage connects with reggae’s past while blazing an uncharted path into a musical future beyond categorisation.

Morgan Heritage is comprised of vocalist/ keyboard player Una Morgan, vocalist Peter Morgan and keyboard player/ vocalist Roy “Gramps” Morgan, rhythm guitarist “Lukes” Morgan and percussionist “Mr. Mojo” Morgan. But Full Circle is much more than the sum of its musical parts: it’s the sound of Jamaican dancehall systems and New York hip-hop boom boxes and New England pop radio and California punk rock mosh pits, all fused into an unprecedented, harmonious whole.

Prophecy: Today Jamaica, tomorrow the world

When last we caught up with St Thomas-based singer Prophecy, he was chilling at Red Stripe Reggae Sumfest, enjoying the proceedings having proven his own worth as winner of the Red Stripe Big Break competition.

Since then, the conscious crooner has been working hard – as he always has – to take his career to the next level.

Paul heats up with high-energy dancehall

A patois “spitting,” corn-rowed singer waved a cane and towel as he sailed the Good Ship Popular Music through high temperature waters of Jamaican dancehall Saturday at the Eagles Ballroom. Festooned in a green camouflage with glittering gold coat of arms, platinum medallion bouncing, Sean Paul convincingly answered detractors while – in his first Milwaukee gig – putting on perhaps the most explosive local concert of 2006.

Forgive the hyperbole. Dancehall is high energy, gets people moving, and despite its convergence with hip-hop (perhaps we should say “hip-pop”), has no reference point but itself. Though as old as rap, dancehall has only recently come into its own, steered in large part by this Uptown Kingston product (full name Sean Paul Henriques), who scored a Grammy and sold 8.5 million copies of his albums: 2000′s “Stage One,” 2002′s monstrous “Dutty Rock” and last year’s “The Trinity.”

Do You Know scores big for Mr Vegas

Do You Know is the latest hit for Mr Vegas. Released on the Fi Wi Music label, the song has started its lap up the New York Reggae chart, where it debuted at number 24. On local shores, Do You Know is riding all major charts.

Last year Mr Vegas regained lost territory when he took Last Week (Constant Spring) to the number one spot. His most recent hit was the collaboration Taxi Fare, which featured Lexxus. The song hit the top 10 on the local charts. It also figured on several overseas reggae charts.

Matterhorn telling it like it is

Even as clubbers bounced to the music in the Zen Nightclub on Wednesday the shock and horror of the brutal slaying of six-year-old Sean Luke Lum Fai echoed in frontal lobes. The night’s featured selector, Tony Matterhorn of Jamaica mentioned the tragedy in the opening minutes of his performance and the crowd moaned in unison, several of them near the stage expressing unabashed anger.

Steel Representing

Steel Pulse continue to fly the flag for ‘ostracised’ reggae music

Thirty years into their ground-breaking career, leading reggae band Steel Pulse are set to return to their home city of Birmingham for a series of dates this autumn.

No doubt figuring near the top of the playlists will be tracks from Steel Pulse’s forthcoming new album, their 19th, African Holocaust – due to be released on

Dennis Bovell: The dub master

Dennis Bovell is back, promising some full-on reggae. He talks to Tim Cumming

“Our school had a recording studio, in the old swimming pool. It was quite a thing for the Sixties. The building’s still there – it’s a listed building, used to be a hospital during the war, the Royal Victoria Patriotic Building…”

The British reggae legend Dennis Bovell talks as easily and as prolifically as he works; and he hasn’t stopped working as a musician, producer, writer, arranger and engineer on countless reggae, dub, punk, pop and rock albums for the best part of 40 years. His production credits range from artists such as Fela Kuti and Alpha Blondy to The Pop Group and Bananarama.

Rita Marley disputes Barrett’s claim

Bob Marley’s widow Rita said that the late reggae king did not consider bassist Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett a member of his band The Wailers.

As the hearing of Barrett’s multi-million dollar lawsuit against the Marleys and their record company continued in London’s High Court Tuesday, Mrs Marley reportedly told Justice Lawson that Bunny Livingston and Peter Tosh were the original members of the group and they had written songs alongside Marley.