Reggae Reflection Spotlight:  Week of 7/13/15

Welcome to this week’s Spotlight.  We have another DVR alert for you this week.  Last week’s reminder was for Shaggy on the NBC Today show (read all about his appearance below), and this week’s DVR alert is for OMI on ABC’s Good Morning America program on Tuesday morning followed by his appearance on NBC’s Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon the same day.  

This week’s Festival Spotlight is the 5th Annual Jamaican Jerk Festival.  It will take place on Sunday, July 19th at Roy Wilkins Park in Queens,  a favorite park for outdoor Caribbean festivals taking place this summer. This year the festival features performances by Romain Virgo, Sanchez, Fab5 and Carlene Davis.  

Also in this week’s Spotlight, we have links to our full review of  Groovin in the Park,  Shaggy on the NBC Today show, new videos from Sean Paul and Alborosie, tour dates for Ky-mani Marley & Collie Buddz and more!  Email us at  ReggaeReflection@ReggaeReflection.com for Spotlight consideration! 

Last week Shaggy brought lots of Reggae excitement to the NBC Today show on Tuesday morning with an outdoor performance in Rockefeller Plaza as part of their Summer Toyota Concert Series.  He opened with his latest  Billboard  chart-topping  hit “I Need Your Love” which Shaggy describes as a “the beginning of a new chapter”.  When asked by Matt Laurer of the Today Show about the  “new chapter”, Shaggy responded by saying  “We’ve been doing it for such a long time. I wanted to come back into pop music with something with a bang.  I collaborated with a lot of guys – Costi,  Mohombi, Faydee and we did this amazing record and it just feels like a rebirth of a new energy; it’s connected.”  And then referring to the large audience gathered, Shaggy added “ these people, they love it – it’s an amazing audience!”  to the cheers of the fans, many waiving their Jamaican flags in the air.   Shaggy then wrapped up his set along with Rayvon on hand to perform his classic hits Angel, Mr. Boombastic and It wasn’t me.   Watch the videos below. 

Ky-mani Marley has announced some new tour dates to promote his latest album ‘ Maestro’ which was released on 6/30 and debuted as the hot shot number one spot on the  Billboard Reggae Chart.  Just last week that number one spot belonged to the his father  for the Bob Marley, Easy Skankin – Boston 78.  

Ky-mani’s Maestro tour dates for July include dates on the West Coast  kicking off on July 11th in Bellingham, WA. We haven’t seen the full tour schedule yet, however we have seen dates announced so far for Providence, RI on 9/19 and Cambridge, Ma on 09/17. Stay tuned for additional tour announcements. 

For additional upcoming events, be sure to check out our Reggae Reflection Calendar. Stay tuned for continuous updates. 2015 features some of the best festivals and concert tours we have seen in a long time!