ROOTS REGGAE STILL A GLOBAL SOUND

Persistent negative press involving Jamaican artistes over recent months has not been sufficient to dampen the appetite of international aficionados of  reggae music, with many acts enjoying a welcome presence at festivals and stand-alone tours across the globe.

In California, long a welcome territory for roots reggae artistes, two of the biggest nad long-established reggae events recently hosted a large contingent of veterans including Half Pint, Bunny Wailer, Israel Vibration, Marcia Griffiths and more. Even relative newcomer I-Octane, who has exploded in popularity over the last year, was included in the lineup for the 30^th Annual Raggamuffins Reggae Festival held in the southern California cities of Long Beach and San Diego.

Across the Pacific Ocean, in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, Dubtonic Kru, themselves road-tested vets in their own right, bested 16 other bands from as far afield as Brazil and the Ukraine to win the Global Battle of the Bands. The win puts the Jamaican sound squarely in front of a huge south-east Asian audience that stretches as far as China and India, and which also will reverberate – via a tour and promotional package – across Europe later this year.

And speaking of Europe, Rootz Underground have for the last couple of weeks been on a western and central European swing with multiple stops in countries such as Germany, France , the Czech Republic and Poland. On returning from across the Atlantic, the group will head to the Gulf of Mexico, to Lafayette, Louisiana, to be exact, where they will  make a return appearance at the International Festival de Louisiane in April, before heading west to the Houston iFest.

April also marks the return of the London Ska Festival, which will run April 21-24 in the UK capital. The festival is expected to draw participants from 37 countries, including Jamaican legends such as Ansel “Double Barrel” Collins (who will be reunited with Dave Barker), Ken Boother, Bob Andy and Marcia Griffiths, as well as English stars like The Specials, The Beat (also known as The English Beat) and James Hunter, once described by Van Morrison as “one of the best voices in British r&b and soul.”