Greenfield Recorder
1985
Reggae Festival Set in Charlemont Today
Promoters of a reggae music festival here expect over 2,000 persons to
attend a seven-hour concert today. This
concert will be the first of its type to be held at the fairgrounds, promoters
claimed.
WEE
People Productions, the brainchild of Matthew DiBenedetti of Mad Max Catering in
Charlemont and Ras Jahn Bullock, lead singer of Loose Caboose, will feature four
reggae bands from 11a.m. to 6p.m. including headliners Loose
Caboose, African Roots, the New Lions
and Zioninatation.
“We
were just going to have a party and invite Loose Caboose to play,” Mr.
DiBenedetti said. “Then we
thought it would be fun to share that party with the general public and have the
first reggae music concert at the fairgrounds,” he added.
Loose
Caboose, a reggae band from Amherst and their singer Mr. Bullock are excited
about this first-time event and expect a good turnout Saturday.
“We
are going to put a lot of energy into the Charlemont Fairgrounds, man,” Mr.
Bullock said.
Reggae
is a heavily rhythmic form of music derived from New Orleans jazz, Caribbean,
especially Jamaican, sound and African native music.
Ras
Jahn Bullock, who previously worked with Toots and the Maytals, has been lead
singer for the Loose Caboose for eight years.
He said that reggae has gained much in popularity over the years.
“Recently,
we worked with UB40 at the Palace Theatre in Albany, NY,” Mr. Bullock said,
“and we will produce a 45 record very soon at Wendell Recording Studio in
Wendell on the Imani label.”
Loose
Caboose has produced one album already entitled “Dealer’s World”, a Ra
Records production, was recorded in the heart of reggae country, Kingston,
Jamaica, according to the lead singer.
A
special attraction at the reggae festival will be unveiling of what promoters
believe may be the largest drum kit in reggae music.
Bobby Kay, the drummer of Loose Caboose, will use his 42-piece kit for
the first time ever at this afternoon’s festival.
“Usually
reggae drum sets are small,” Mr. Bullock said, “but this one will have 42
drums, 15 cymbals and a gong, and also an electric drum set,” he said.
Other
members of Loose Caboose include Boo Pearson on Afro-Cuban percussion, Michael
Miller, on bass guitar, Jonathan Dorr, lead guitar and vocals and David
Boatwright on guitar and vocals.
Promoters
said they hope that this concert will be the first of a series of such events.
“If
this one goes well we will plan another reggae concert for September,” Mr.
DiBenedetti said.
In
addition to the musical performances, the festival will feature a crafts fair
and food concessions. Crafts booths
are still available and will be rented for $30 each and food vendors may rent
space at $50 each.
Mr.
DiBenedetti, whose parents own and operate the Plantation Restaurant in
Charlemont, said local officials have been very cooperative with regard to this
first-time concert.
“People
here have been very supportive of our efforts and local police have been
cooperative in helping with security for the event,” Mr. DiBenedetti said.
Tickets
for the reggae music festival are now available through DATA-TIX
(1-800-243-4842) and at Stop and Shop Stores on Merrill Rd. in Pittsfield and
Bernardston Rd. in Greenfield. Tickets
will be $8.50 in advance and $10 at the gate.
THE RECORDER, GREENFIELD, MA.
THURSDAY,
SEPTEMBER 10, 1998
The summer may be over, but the
music isn’t. On Saturday, Sept. 12, the hills will be alive with the sounds
of Jamaica as Reggae Fest ’98 gets underway. In its second year, Reggae
Fest ’98 will be held at the Charlemont Fairgrounds (Route 2, Charlemont).
There will be live reggae music from 1 to 9p.m., food from all over the
world, craft vendors and a drum circle.
Festival organizer and musician
Abdul Baki speaks with enthusiasm about the festival which he hopes will be
even better than last year’s event.
“My idea for this Reggae Fest
is to make it a West County celebration,” said Baki, a native of Bali who
now resides in Charlemont. “We are trying to make it a family event so you
can bring the kids and just enjoy the whole day.” Baki said that the lineup
includes new acts as well as some musicians that helped make last year’s
Fest a success.
“The Black Rebels will
be there. They are coming off their African tour and they have a new CD
out. They are starting to make a splash on the international scene which is
exciting for the Pioneer Valley,” said Baki. “Loose Caboose is going
to be there again, they are the pioneers for reggae in this area, and they
had the first Reggae Fest in Charlemont back in 1983.”
The lineup also includes New
Lions; Nyabinghi Drummers and Chanters whose style of music is
considered the “mother of all music” because it’s based on the heartbeat;
One Love, a reggae group from Springfield who have played with all the
finest reggae bands and are now stepping out on their own; Gaia Roots, an
all-woman singing and drumming group; Mwoli, Boatwright & Miller,
jazz, blues and reggae musicians whose varied influences can be heard in
their approach to reggae.
Abdul Baki and his band New
Roots, who take their musical inspiration from the Rock Steady era in
Jamaican music, a period related to early American soul and rock, will also
perform. The band’s new CD, “The Other Side of Slim,” a tribute to Rock
Steady pioneer Slim Smith, has been gaining positive reviews.
All of the acts performing at
Reggae Fest ’98 are from the area, which certainly speaks well for the
regional reggae scene.
“This is a really fertile area
for this type of music,” explained Baki. “Not only in the Pioneer Valley,
but all of New England. Reggae fests are popping up everywhere which is
really incredible.”
The fact that more and more
young people are being drawn to the gentle rhythms of reggae certainly
factors into its rise in popularity.
“I think it’s an alternative to
rap, even though there is a type of rapping done in this music, it’s the
original rap, the style that they do nowadays is based on this,” said Baki.
“One difference with the groups that will be at the festival is that all the
lyrics that we sing – and this goes for every single group – have to do with
unity and peace. We are trying to give the youth an example that there is
an alternative to the drugs and violence that’s in a lot of the music that’s
currently popular.”
However, Baki stressed that
this music is in no way just for the young.
“Reggae music, particularly the
style that we are presenting at the Reggae Fest, is accessible to old and
young,” he said. “Even if your favorite music is some other kind of music,
people find that reggae is something they can enjoy and dance to.”
For more information on
the Charlemont Reggae Fest call 625-0123. Tickets are $10 and available at
the fairgrounds.
WEST COUNTY
NEWS
September 13, 2001
It Was a Smooth Running Reggae Fest This Year
By Clark Johnson (Managing Editor)
This past Saturday, September 8th,
about 900 music fans gathered under perfect, sunny skies and enjoyed six
reggae bands without any problems.
Last year’s Charlemont Reggae Fest proved
to be a bit more than a great afternoon and evening of reggae music at the
Charlemont Fairgrounds. It was marred by the arrest of a woman who insisted
on enjoying the music topless. This led to a regulation that this year men
and women must wear shirts or blouses.
According to Charlemont’s Police
Administrator Mark DeJackome, there were no incidents of any kind, including
fights, drug use or nudity.
“It went very smoothly,” said Mr.
DeJackome, who patrolled the fairgrounds from noon to past nine p.m. He was
helped by one other police officer.
Concert organizer and musician Abdul
Baki of Charlemont, was also very pleased with the festival. “It was
very nice to see so many children at the concert and the racial diversity of
the music fans,” said Mr. Baki. Children under 14 were allowed in free of
charge.
The reggae festival has been held at the
Charlemont Fairgrounds for the past five years. The bands that performed
were Mr. Baki’s own band, Loose Caboose, Ras Moon, The
Equalites, Ras Kettae Mon and the Nyabingi All-Stars
and the Black Rebels.
The RECORDER, GREENFIELD, MA.
September 5, 2002
Annual Reggae Festival Returns with Strong
Lineup
Sheryl Hunter – Sounds Local
For a music that was born
from an improvised Caribbean nation, that embraces a religion that worships
a dead emperor, reggae has enjoyed an enduring popularity in this, a
predominately white, prosperous nation.
Bob Marley, the man who first made reggae
popular here in the U.S., has been dead for 20 years. Yet, his album
“Legend” remains a huge seller that’s been on the Billboard catalog chart
for 678 weeks. While much of Marley’s music serves as a template for social
protest music, the spirit of “Get Up Stand Up” and “Small Axe” has been
supplemented for better or worse by the good vibrations feeling evident in
his “Jamming” and “One Love”.
Reggae has become, curiously, the
enduring party music of our time.
As proof of this, one only has to look at
the way the genre has been wholeheartedly embraced by the jam band
community. There’s not a jammy festival out there that doesn’t feature at
least one reggae band in the lineup.
Reggae has always been extremely popular
here in the valley and bands like the Equalites and Loose Caboose have
enjoyed long careers.
The Charlemont Reggae Festival was
launched in 1997 and has grown with each passing year. This year’s festival
promises to be bigger and better than ever. The festival will take place
Saturday, September 7th, at noon at the Charlemont Fairgrounds.
The lineup includes all the major reggae musicians currently working and
living here in the valley:
Loose Caboose – One of
the first bands to play reggae here in the valley, they’ve managed to endure
over the years. They recorded “Caboose to Zion” on Tuff Gong records in
Jamaica and now have their own studio and label named Caboose to Zion.
Several of the artists from the label will perform with the band.
The Equalites
– Another band with a long history here in
the valley. Like Loose Caboose, the Equalites have also recorded in
Jamaica, but their album “Out at the Inn” was recorded at the nearby
Charlemont Inn. The Equalities remain one of the most popular draws in the
valley club scene.
Keteman All-Star
Drummers & Reincarnation – Roots Rasta drumming and chanting led by
Keteman, one of the original members of Ras Michael and the Sons of Negus.
Known as one of the leaders of Nyabinghi drumming, he has recorded with Bob
Marley, Jimmy Cliff and other roots Jamaican artists.
Black Rebels
– A celebrated
African roots reggae band, the Black Rebels say they are devoted to
inspiring the world with music.
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