Reggae Sumfest 2007

The traditional Beach Party opened the festival on Sunday 15 July. Only two or three hundred people, hardly more, had gathered for a live set from Fab 5, one of the island's oldest and best-known backing bands. The atmosphere built slowly as Fab 5 ran through the hits: Jamaican Woman, Exodus, Murder she wrote... Everyone was waiting for the Wyclef Refugee All Star Sound System, announced on the bill, which in the end never took the stage. Oddly, the festival organisers schedule nothing between the opening Sunday and the three big nights of Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Four full days in which to rest and prepare for the Jamaican tumult. For here, the shows last until the early hours.

A new dancehall stage
Aptly named "Explosion", Thursday's dancehall night (the cheapest on the programme) is the one that drew the biggest crowd. On the bill, a true musical marathon: 30 artists and a single stage, which meant 12 hours of non-stop live music! The night kicks off around 9pm with several "smaller" artists warming up a crowd made up mostly of Jamaicans, plus a few hundred tourists from the United States and Europe. Depending on their standing, artists play between 6 and 45 minutes. Teflon, Merital Family and Jah Weise lead the way. The standouts were Lutan Fyah and above all Chuck Fender, who was the first to truly set the crowd alight... Quite literally, since the crowd welcomed his songs with fireworks and homemade flamethrowers (improvised from aerosols and lighters). He was also the first artist to call publicly on Jamaicans to keep the elections peaceful (the general elections take place in Jamaica on 27 August, Ed.).

Next up, Gyptian has no trouble winning over his audience, and neither do Wayne Marshall and Busy Signal. The trio Voice Mail brought a breath of fresh air and creativity, arriving on stage with a troupe of street dancers who went wild on Dancin' Fever, Get Crazy and Bembe. In the still long list of artists, we also noted Munga's very average performance, even though he strung together hits like Bad from mi born and Bad like I, too often interspersed with inaudible lyrics. Not forgetting a Lady Saw who is as provocative as ever, and who amused the crowd time and again by commenting on the sexy lyrics of her songs.

Ninjaman vs Bounty... vs Beenie
We had to wait until 2am for the headliners to arrive. After an impeccable Anthony B running through his hits, it was Baby Cham's turn to charm the crowds, notably with Conscience and Ghetto Story, showing his full maturity. Unlike Vybz Kartel, who went almost unnoticed, Ninjaman took the stage in fighting spirit. Publicly challenging Bounty Killer to a sung clash, this character, as zany as he is endearing, allowed himself a few comments on the "General's" private life. Once he had conquered the stage, Ninjaman brought up some children who each spat a few well-aimed rhymes to the crowd's applause. After a disappointing performance, Elephant Man once again indulged in his favourite game: bringing spectators up on stage (this time a European journalist, then a disabled Jamaican) and getting them to join in dances simulating sex.

Day was beginning to break when the eagerly awaited Movado took the stage. With precision and brutality, he hammered out tracks like Weh dem a say and Gangsta for life, before inviting a gospel choir on stage for an emotion-laden version of Born and raised. Then came the highlight of the show: the arrival of Bounty Killer in a general's costume, greeted by a forest of fingers pointed in the air in the shape of pistols. After a few aggressive words about homosexuals (as usual), he brought three young singers on stage in response to Ninjaman. The crowd erupted, and yet one artist remained: Beenie Man. A sign that the festival's programmers have a taste for risk, if you remember the confrontation between the two artists at the 2006 edition. And even though the crowd had been calling for Bounty Killer all night, Beenie Man proved that he was indeed the "king of the dancehall". Dressed in a suit in the colours of Jamaica, he won the crowd over, to a sea of lighters and flamethrowers. And he finished in front of a tired but completely delirious crowd with his last tune, Back it up. It was nearly 9am.

Roots, Rap, reggae
The following night, same again. But this time the show was not devoted exclusively to dancehall, with artists from different countries and musical backgrounds. Headlining, notably, was the rapper LL Cool J. There was something for everyone, then. But reggae still had its place... The "Evolution" night started with the reggae portion, with sets from Christopher Martin, Iley Dread and Daville, with his Jamaican summer hit Always on my mind. The ambassador of soca, the energetic Alison Hinds, then woke the crowd up with her dance rhythms. Now the serious business could begin: it was the turn of Morgan Heritage, in particularly fine and inspired form that night, to step onto a stage bathed in green, yellow and red lights as tunes like A man is still a man, Don't haffi dread, So much blood and Tell me how come rang out.

After LL Cool J's hip hop interlude, Shaggy won over the crowd, running through most of his big hits with plenty of humour and a strong stage presence. Finally, the great Buju Banton delivered a superb show. Delving into his reggae and dancehall repertoire, Gargamel alternated classics and new hits: Hills and Valleys, Till Shiloh and the recent Driver. And the Morgan Heritage singer even came to share the stage with him for one last tune. The night ended with a long Fab 5 tribute by Fab 5, with Chaka Demus & Pliers, Pluto Shervington, Admiral Bailey and Frankie Paul joining them... keeping the crowd on the edge of their seats until 7.30am.

The Riley son acclaimed
Last night... Despite the fatigue, the crowd turned out for the "Zenith" night. And apart from Mary J Blige, whom we still wonder what she was doing there, the rest of the night was clearly played out under the reggae flag. Among the small acts at the start, it was Rootz Underground who stood out most, delivering a roots sound driven by percussion, horns and the particularly clear voice of their singer, Steve Newland (whose solo album we are still waiting for after his magnificent EP released on Makasound at the end of 2004). Currently 2nd in the HypeTV charts and 4th in the Jamaica Weekly Top 30 singles, Tarrus Riley is the star of the summer in Jamaica. The son of the famous Jimmy Riley (not to be confused with Winston Riley of the Techniques) sang tracks from his album "Parables", including the two hits that play constantly in every bar and sound system on the island, She's Royal and Beware), setting off the crowd's enthusiasm, with a little extra when Beenie Man made a surprise appearance on stage... there to do a little pull up on one of his songs.

After Mary J Blige's long show, the reggae torch passed back into the hands of the irreproachable Richie Spice and his many musicians, then Beres Hammond, who delivered a performance worthy of his experience. Still present in the VIP area in front of the stage, Beenie Man was this time invited by Beres to sing a duet. A performance that was much less convincing than the first night's, however, perhaps due to the dancehall king's inebriated state. Getting off the stage was not the easiest either... The night ended, like the night before, with a tribute to Lloyd Parks and We the people, with Half Pint, Leroy Sibbles and the Mighty Diamonds. No less! This time it was 8am when silence finally fell.