Buju and more make waves on Welcome to Jamrock Reggae Cruise 2019
Buju and more make waves on Welcome to Jamrock Reggae Cruise 2019. Report by Noah Schaffer.
“I’ve never been on a cruise before — we’ll I’m not really on the cruise, I’m just passing through,” explained Buju Banton as he performed on Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley’s Welcome to Jamrock Reggae Cruise 2019. While it’s true that Buju had to vacate the ship before it sailed from Jamaica back to Florida, his lengthy and spellbinding show was the unsurprising highlight of the sixth WTJRC sailing.
But while Buju was only on for one night, the rest of the cruise continued its tradition of hosting an eclectic mix of young and old roots, rub-a-dub and dancehall artists. The cruise had a 100% Jamaican lineup, a rarity for reggae festivals these days, and patrons responded by booking every cabin for the 2021 sailing even though no artists have yet to be announced.
Sail away Party
Monday started with a pool-deck sail away DJ party. Jr. Gong, who for the first time did not perform a show with his band, briefly took to the stage and asked Jamrockers to spend their money with the “little guy on the street” when the ship arrived in Jamaica.
The evening stage show was a pure roots affair starting with the Mighty Diamonds, whose harmonies were impeccable on “All I Have Is Love” and “Have Mercy” before finishing with “Pass The Kutchie” (perhaps not great advice for those looking to avoid the spreading of cruise ship germs).
On a windy night the skinny Everton Blender looked at times like he might blow over, but his husky voice got forwards for hits “Blend Dem” and “Lift Up Your Head” and a cover of “Little Green Apples” but the most powerful moment may have been an acapella “A Change Is Gonna Come.”
With Dean Fraser and the Black Soil Band impeccably backing all of the artists set breaks were much shorter than normal, but the space was nicely filled with Shinehead and the Kingston 12 sound he runs with DJ Papalotl.
Finishing the night was Tarrus Riley, whose set included the new energetic “Love’s Takeover.” An audience member made a marriage proposal during “She’s Royal” (she said yes) before the night ended with “Don’t Come Back.”
Over the years WTJRC has made a few improvements. The buffet food, especially the vegan selections, seemed vastly improved. (Inevitably plenty disagreed with me.) And the daytime programming during at-sea days has expanded to the point where I opted to get some sleep and mostly skip the popular late-night sound system dances. Given how crowded the Tuesday morning reggae yoga session was I clearly wasn’t the only one who made such a choice.
Tuesday’s rub-a-dub lineup
Tuesday’s early afternoon live entertainment started with another bill of veterans backed by Dean Fraser and co. The rub-a-dub lineup kicked off with a typically strong set from Johnny Osbourne, who was celebrating his 50th year as a recording artist. Sister Nancy, making her long overdue WTJRC debut, was in especially strong voice. “I can’t even fix my own car now,” she joked before launching into the repair manual set to music known as “Transport Connections.” Pinchers finished the segment in a flashy gold suit. I ducked out not because his stage bravado was missing but because I wanted to hit the meet and greet, where all three rub-a-dub acts plus Blender and two of the Mighty Diamonds spent hours taking photos with fans.
The tail end of a seated Q&A session with Marcia Griffiths saw Jr. Gong’s mother Cindy Breakespeare passionately praising the reggae queen. By all accounts it had been an engaging if poorly attended discussion.
A much larger crowd packed the theater a few hours later to hear Damian Marley discuss his career with reggae journalist Rob Kenner. A late start meant that the audience had to race from the mid-ship theater to the top deck where the concerts were held to see the start of yet another Dean Fraser-backed segment. Ghost proved that his vocal power remains undiminished from the days in the 90s where he was a constant chart presence with covers of Cher’s “Believe” and Air Supply’s “Nothing At All.” With over the top crotch grabbing and shirt unbuttoning he came off as a reggae Tom Jones. The Black Soil band was put to good use on “You Can Call Me Al” and a rare Ghost original, “Make a Toast,” showed promise.
Although Marcia Griffiths just toured the US with an all-female band, the cruise found her reunited with longtime collaborator Dean Fraser for a set that had plenty of the Studio One-era ska and rocksteady featured on Griffiths’ recent “Timeless” LP. “I knew Damian before he was born,” joked Griffiths. The lengthy set also included her son Taf ably handling the Beres Hammond parts on “Live On” before ending with a few dozen expert dancers demonstrating the “Electric Slide.”
Stephen Marley opened with “Natural Mystic” and continued on in a mostly laid-back mode, an exception being his brother Damian’s cameo on “Medication.” While many acts use an acoustic set as an opener or a mid-set breather, Stephen actually ended with an unplugged “Could You Be Loved.”
Ocho Rios
Wednesday meant the arrival of the ship into Ocho Rios, the first of two stops in Jamaica. Cruisers departed to relax at beaches, bring donations to schools and orphanages, and visit the dispensaries in such great numbers that at least one had to adjust its admission policy to handle the onslaught of patrons. Buju-mania led some cruisers to stay closer to the boat, and video of the newly freed artist walking through the ship metal detector started circulating.
Two dancehall giants who share Buju’s lack of a visa, Popcaan and Bounty Killer, followed with successive sets full of lyrical fire. Bounty also featured a pair of twin lady deejays in red skirts and blonde wigs known as the K Queens for a slightly surreal moment.
But Buju was only one of five artists who took the stage for the week’s longest night of music. Skip Marley, the son of Cedella Marley and the recording duet partner of Katy Perry, started right at the 7 p.m. start time and came off as shy but sincere during his half-hour that saw his uncle Damian guesting on “That’s Not True.” Christopher Martin offered one of the sleeper sets of the week. Unlike Ghost he far transcended his ladies’ man persona, getting early forwards for “Paper Loving” and “If I Were a Carpenter.” A mid-set medley of classic 70’s soul like “If You Don’t Love Me By Now” and “Sexual Healing” also helped prove Martin’s depth before he finished with “I’m A Big Deal.”
In prior years Bounty delivered seeming endless Jamrock sets, but he knew not to overstay his welcome before the main event. Soon enough the strains of “Our Father in Zion” were heard from offstage before Buju bounded on with “Destiny.” Not only was Banton’s passion and energy impressive for someone who had spent a decade a jail, but the extended band and backing singers added an extra element not found when Banton used to tour the US with a skimpy three-piece combo. Saxophonist Verlando Small was an especially valuable asset.
Remarking on how times had changed during his imprisonment, Banton noted that while passerbys used to stop and help if they saw an accident, now they’d be more likely to record the carnage on their phones. “A bomboclaat we come to,” he added, although the remarks did little to persuade cruisers to put down their cell phones and listen to rather than record the concert.
“A true friend is someone who when the shit hit the fan, the bedren says they’re a bedren,” said Buju before calling out “Ragga,” the man who bailed Buju out of jail. The Buju/Stephen Marley duet was the lyrically apropos “Duppy Conqurer” with Banton deejaying about his ten years spent before reaching freedom.
While musically an unequivocal success, Banton’s performance did highlight one of the WTJRC’s biggest challenges. An audience of 4,000 may be intimate compared to the crowd that saw Buju at his National Stadium comeback concert in Kingston, but it can’t comfortably fit into where the Independence of the Seas swimming pool is normally found. At the very least the use of a Jumbotron-type screen would help those who couldn’t actually see the stage.
Falmouth
Thursday morning saw the beautiful site of the ship approaching Falmouth as the sunrise Nyabinghi drummers played and chanted.
The evening started with what was perhaps the second-most anticipated set of the week: Koffee, who is perhaps the most hyped singjay since Chronixx, was limited to a 45-minute set, not surprising for a 19-year old artist with just one EP out. While her backing band was a bit on the generic side, Koffee herself came off as relatable and genuine. She brought out tour mate and R&B star Daniel Caesar for “Cyanide” before ending with “Blessings.”
She was followed by Morgan Heritage, an outfit that could teach her a lot about how an artist once heralded as a young reggae savior can remain relevent many years into a career. Opening with the classic “Don’t Haffi Dread” the group also had plenty of tracks from its new “Loyalty” LP. It was a lengthy and powerful set that only missed its mark on the encore, an unneeded cover of Jimmy Cliff’s “Reggae Nights” that featured a silly projected cartoon of the band.
Finishing the night was Busy Signal, who didn’t mince words when discussing his past legal woes. “Girl You’re All I Need” got two forwards and covers of “The Gambler” and “Wild World” were good choices. Plenty of younger artists would be wise to notice how both Busy and Christopher Martin perform many of their songs in their entirety instead of rushing through excerpts of tracks. Busy wrapped up an excellent night of music — and one of the few days in the history of the WTJRC where no member of the Marley family appeared onstage.
Welcome to Jamrock Reggae Cruise 2019 Soundclash at Sea
Seconds after Busy had departed the stage Jamrockers were streaming into what is normally the ship’s skating rink for the annual “Soundclash at Sea.” Garfield “Chin” Bourne, who has carved out a niche as the Vince McMahon of clash battles, facilitated an exciting four-way battle. Jamaican veterans Tony Matterhorn and Pink Panther found themselves vanquished early in favor of German showman Warrior Sound and the South Sudanese-bred Dynamq Sound. Although Dynamq played up its African roots to great effect early in the clash, in the final chune-fi-chune Warrior dominated with clever counteractions and plenty of theatrics, notching an undisputed victory. In his trophy acceptance speech Warrior displayed a touch of class by praising the Jamaican clash pioneers he had just defeated.
As the final day dawned plenty of Jamrockers showed the effects of sunny beach days and long dancehall nights. Daytime found the only live music which was performed to backing tracks instead of a band. Charly Black was a fan favorite, handing out key rings during an extended “Party Animal.” Wayne Marshall and his lengthy discography followed. Not a big fan of track shows, I departed for the second meet and greet (with Charly, Wayne, Morgan Heritage and Professor Nuts) and the film screening of the fascinating “Studio 17: The Lost Reggae Tapes” about Clive Chin. Both were worthwhile events, even if by many accounts I missed an especially vibrant performance by dancemaster Ding Dong.
Unfortunately a rematch of the mid-80’s King Jammy’s vs. Black Scorpio clash was first postponed and then cancelled — presumably due to unexplained issues with King Jammy’s, as Jack Scorpio’s sound appeared for a solo set.
The final evening of Welcome to Jamrock Reggae Cruise 2019
The final evening began with Professor Nuts, who proved that he is not just a dancehall comedian but really a master folk storyteller of everyday bus rides and street happenings. Julian Marley made a strong early impression with “Hey Jack” from his Grammy-nominated “As I Am.” But soon a heavy rain started to pour down on the unprotected stage and audience.
The sound crew impressively managed to move the entire production down eight stories to the theater. In past years the rain location has proven to be dangerously overcrowded and uncomfortable. On this night, with some needing to pack up, it seemed less chaotic even if attendees still outnumbered open seats. Although Julian finished his set the vibe was respectful but a bit unengaged as clearly most in the audience were waiting for Capleton, who rewarded them with the high jumping and non-stop lyrical fire he’s known for.
The 2020 sailing of the Welcome to Jamrock Reggae Cruise is officially sold out. But those wanting to join are encouraged to get on the waiting list and to watch the various cruise Facebooks groups where offers of cabin sales are made by those whose plans have changed.
