International Night 1 of Reggae Sumfest 2013…
Day 2 of the 3-day live reggae and dancehall music marathon in Montego Bay, Jamaica. My favourite of the 3 concert nights at Reggae Sumfest.
Beres Hammond at International Night 1
International Night 1 Vibes
International Night 1 had a very different feel to the previous Dancehall Night. The vibes were friendlier, earthier and much more chilled. There were also less people than on Dancehall Night (Jamaican Macky was right). That made it more comfortable and easier to find space and move around the festival site.
International Night 1 Music
The music on International Night 1 was mostly of the roots rock reggae kind – with conscious lyrics.
Almost every artist on the program gave an absolutely top quality performance…
Barrington Levy + Tarrus Riley + Iba Mahr + Beres Hammond + Jah Cure + Nature.
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- Iba Mahr
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- Barrington Levy
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- Tarrus Riley
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- Beres Hammond
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- Jah Cure
Beres Hammond and his lovers rock reggae music was smooth and simply lovely.
Beres Hammond may just have the coolest, funkiest band on this earth.
Flo Rida from the States was the only exception to the above. The music was tedious – and out of step with the flow of the rest on the program.
Every musician in the accompanying bands was incredible. The rhythm sections were some of the greatest players I’ve heard. I also loved hearing some horns in Jamaican music again after so much hornless dancehall.
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- Tarrus Riley’s band
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- Tarrus Riley – International Night 1
The back-up singers were awesome to watch and hear – and sexy in a wholesome kind of way (compared to sexy in a raunchy dancehall way).
Beres Hammond
The absolute stand out acts of International Night 1 were Barrington Levy and Tarrus Riley. Their concerts at Reggae Sumfest have gone into my lifetime stand-out-gig list.
Barrington Levy
Barrington Levy is absolutely awesome. He was actually one of the earliest of the dancehall artists. A tasty, stylish form of dancehall. He had some amusing and interesting things to say and sing about contemporary dancehall music and culture at his Reggae Sumfest show:
“We don’t need no dancers or smoke up here on the stage. Just the music.”
I’d say Barrington Levy’s music is now a mix of reggae, dancehall, jazz, rock n roll (yes), r&b & funk. He even has a song called ‘Dancehall Rock’. It is grooving, funking dancehall fusion. Interestingly, Barrington Levy has spent a lot of time outside of Jamaica – even sings about it in the song videoed below.
Barrington Levy
I loved Barrington Levy’s music, and the amazing performance by he and his band.
Check out all of this video of Barrington Levy at Reggae Sumfest to hear the mix of musical flavours…
Tarrus Riley
Tarrus Riley is a kind of contemporary reggae I wanted to find in Jamaica.
The music sounded fresh, and unique. Tarrus Riley’s sweet voice did too.
That sound is influenced by his always musical life as the son of world travelling, veteran Jamaican roots singer Jimmy Riley. He was also exposed to more music from being raised outside of Jamaica and deejaying before turning to song writing.
Tarrus Riley might be my best new musical find in Jamaica so far.
2 short videos of Tarrus Riley live at Reggae Sumfest here…
On International Night 1, just like on Dancehall Night, Reggae Sumfest’s main stage was run professionally and efficiently – with flawless sound, lighting, visuals and band changeovers.
Jah Cure
Jah Cure was a cruisy reggae close to International Night 1 in the morning light.
Jah Cure
It was the 2nd Reggae Sumfest morning in the open air, where daylight was suddenly there – without warning that a whole long festival night of quality live music was over, already. This time the sunrise music was of the roots reggae kind rather than the dancehall. 
International Night 1 was my favourite of the three Reggae Sumfest concert nights – for its friendly vibes and its musical style. I loved all of it and recommend it to all reggae music lovers.
