In a weekend where there are plenty of options for Caribbean entertainment, I chose to head to Roy Wilkins Park with good reason. Great music under the sun (and stars) makes a music festival that much better. It’s was one of the few family friendly events promoted and unlike stereotypical Caribbean events, they started on time and ending at a decent hour. Reggae, Rhythm & Blues at Roy Wilkins Park, organized by Irie Jam Media, is the first concert in the New York City area to combine Reggae, Soca, R&B and Dancehall on one stage. While the line up may have seemed like a mixture of artist, this is not necessarily a new set up. Music festivals with a variety of artists like Glasonbury Festivals and Jamaica Jazz & Blues have had years of success, but this is a first for Caribbeans living in New York City, but it’s no secret the Caribbeans love all kinds of music and this show was evident of that stance and truly set itself apart from the other concerts happening over Labor Day weekend.
I got to the park a little early and caught a few of the opening reggae and dancehall acts as check out a few of the vendors in the park — checking out some jewelry vendors, sampled sweet plantain chips from Grace Foods and got a refreshing Fruit Punch from a Pina Colado boothe.
I returned to the stage area just in time to catch the end of legendary Leroy Sibbles took the stage early singing all of his hits from his Heptone days as well as songs from his solo career.
The crowd got an early treat from Soca Monarch King, Machel Montano and the HD Family. This was my first time seeing Machel in concert and there was not a person in the crowd that was not whining their waistline. Although his energetic performance was abruptly disrupted by a power outage his band and dancers continued to perform somewhat a freestyle set until the power came back, proving his humble ability to rock a crowd regardless of the circumstances. We all know, had the same thing happened to some artist they would have just walked off stage. Performing “Bend Over”, “Go Dung”, “Jumbie” and a slew of other hits hist performance was nothing less than outstanding.
R&B songstress Monica has a great catalog of hits like “So Gone”, “Love All Over Me” and “Still Standing” which she seemed to run through them all too quickly. Her songs resonated with the audience, but it seemed like we were watching a rehearsal more than a performance and she was dressed for a lazy brunch.
Babyface had a phenomenal performance! It was my first time seeing him as well. Dressed in a full white suit Babyface was looking dapper and ready to please the crowd! The R&B vertaran not only did songs from his own extensive catalog “Whip Appeal”, “Never Keeping Secrets” and “Cool In You”, but also performed hits which he wrote for Bobby Brown, Tevin Campbell, Johnny Gill and Boyz II Men. Babyface’s performance simply delightful, the newly added R&B line up to the roster proved to be a success, this addition was the best part of the night.
Dancehall newcomer I-Octane has been making quite a name for himself and is probably one of the hottest artistes right now, with only five minutes to perform the talented singer breezed through songs like “No Ramp Wid We” and ‘Mind Who You A Diss” . The crowd definitely wanted him to stay longer, but he was under time constraints.
Tarrus Riley did a mini tribute to Buju Banton before delving into a few of his songs including “She’s Royal” and “Contagious”.
Closing out the night, The Gully God, Mavado was clearly the most anticipated in the crowd. This weekend was the first time he’s performed in the U.S. in two year. The singjay was clearly happy to greet his fans with a few of his well known songs “On The Rock”, “Money Changer”, “Last Night” and his latest hit “Delilah”.
Irie Jam also honored recently murdered producer and VP Records own Joel Chin in a video montage. In addition Jamaican American U.S. Representative Yvette Clarke honored the King of Dancehall, Beenie Man for his contribution to music for over 30 years.
Mikelah
Mikelah is a Caribbean Culture expert, curating the bridge between the Caribbean and its diaspora. A CUNY Baruch College graduate with a BBA in Marketing. With previous experience with Caribbean lifestyle brands such as VP Records, Tempo TV and JAMROCK Magazine. Currently serving as a digital marketing maven by day, while continuing to collaborate with Caribbean brands.
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