Wellness Fest (Black As Cole) Pt II: I-Frica, the Unrepentant Queen

Those thinking that the public outcry against her mini-invective against gays and pro-cannabis at the recent Independence Grand Gala would have chastened Queen I-frica were stopped in their tracks at Devon House on Saturday evening when the roots reggae artiste performed in the waning moments of the Reve Wellness fest.

Queen I-frica

After her usual admonishments to the sound crew in relation to getting her tracks in order ,the "Queen" issued a call-out to all the "straight" people in the house and got a fervent response in the affirmative that gave her all the juice she needed to go into "Keep It To Yuself" which in turn received the inevitable massive forwards. Neither did she restrain herself in her spoken pronouncements, though she did humourously acknowledge that "certain quarters" would rather she hadn't said what she said.

Her brief but lively stint offered yet another performance highlight following on the stellar earlier displays by reggae bands Black As Cole and Jewelz

Still Black As Cole....and better than ever

Anyone still questioning the future and potential of our indigenous reggae idiom [it means you haven't closely followed this blog :-) ] ought to have found themselves at the North (?) lawn of Devon House on Saturday. On that occasion, not only did female-led sextet Black As Cole reaffirm their status as the pre-eminent new reggae outfit in the land, but there was an added treat.

As the summer afternoon sun warmed up to critical mass (a strong hint of rain), the growing and enthusiastic crowd were treated to a similarly robust showing from

all-woman band Jewelz

an all-female outfit, dubbed Jewelz. Their repertoire on the day was, to my ears, limited to covers, but they were well executed, and spanned the gamut from Bob Marley and Lauren Hill to Chronixx.

That then set the stage for Black As Cole frontwoman Cecile, pleasantly reminiscent of the DapKings leader Sharon Jones and, if anything, even more soulful.With the supporting cast throwing down some irresistible grooves (especially bass player and partner Craig Cole who dished up bass lines that were both thick as mud and yet refined as glass), they took the crowd throu

Black As Cole band from Wellness fest 2012

gh a diverse collection of tunes, from the funky "Lovesick" to the mid-tempo "Maybe" and the socially conscious "Woman". Live music from both groups that well and truly lives up to the tag. A musical prescription that delivered wellness.

The performance was among several features of this year's renewal of the Reve Wellness festival, presented by jewellry and accessories designers Reve jewellery (Teasea and Duane Bennett. A wide range of quality and innovative art and craft items was also available