#SunfestFL 2016 Day 2 Photos & Review (Lunchmoney Lewis, Jason Derulo, Train)
LunchMoney Lewis & Jason Derulo at Sunfest
Photos and words by Empress K for Reggae Reflection / Island Stage
Lunchmoney Lewis
Jason Derulo
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4/28/16 – On Thursday night, the Tire Kingdom Stage belonged to South Florida Natives Lunch Money Lewis and Jason Derulo. While their styles are quite different, their backgrounds are similar in that both started out their careers writing hit songs for other top artists before embarking on their own successful solo careers. And they have one more thing in common: both have a Caribbean connection via their parents. LunchMoney Lewis is the son of Ian Lewis and nephew of Roger Lewis who are founding members of the popular Jamaican Reggae band Inner Circle, and Jason’s family is of Haitian descent.
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While Lunchmoney Lewis is not yet a household name in the US, he quickly made his mark on the hip-hop scene writing songs for Nicki Minaj and Fifth Harmony before topping the charts in the UK with his own number one hit “Bills”, and has chart success in several other countries including New Zealand, UK, and Austria.
There was no mistaking LunchMoney Lewis as he confidently walked on stage sporting a comfy robe in reference to what he wears in his humorous video, “Bills.”
Accompanied by a two-piece band of drums and keys, he thoroughly entertained the all-ages audience with catchy sing-along songs including “Mama”, “Love You Back”, “Real Thing” and his Australian mega hit “Bills” from his 2015 Debut EP of the same name. Lunchmoney also had the crowd dancing along to “Whip It” which samples the popular song “Let it Whip” by the Dazz Band, all the while proving to the audience that he “Ain’t To Cool To Dance” – not that anyone could look very cool wearing a large Hawaiian style floral print shirt paired with long shorts and birkenstock style sandals – complete with white tube socks. However, if anyone can pull off this unique style, Lunchmoney can.
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Gimmicks aside, LunchMoney Lewis is a talented artist to look out for and last year earned a top spot on the Rolling Stones Artists You Need To Know list.
You can also hear LunchMoney Lewis on the recent self-empowering collaboration “ I Love Me” with Meghan Trainor on her just released album Thank You. Unfortunately for us, Meghan Trainor performed the previous night (opening night) at Sunfest and we did not get to witness an on-stage collaboration, which we think would have been quite cool.
Fans at the Tire Kingdom Stage
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Jason Derulo takes center stage
By nightfall, a large crowd packed the Tire Kingdom Stage in anticipation of Pop / R&B sensation Jason Derulo’s explosive set. Derulo’s DJ Jae Murphy warmed up the young audience that waited patiently for Derulo to take the stage. Then in dramatic fashion, Derulo appeared on stage at the top of a staircase under a center spotlight to open the set with his world-wide hit “Trumpets” from his 2013 album Tattoos.
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Derulo showing absolutely no sign that he fractured his vertebrae only a few years ago while touring in support of his fourth studio album, Everything is 4 released in 2015. Backed by his full band, Derulo accompanied by four talented dancers executed non-stop high energy dance moves throughout his tightly choreographed and entertaining production.
Monica Ramirez
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Ragon Miller
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Derulo performed numerous radio hits from his four studio albums including “Wiggle”, “Get Ugly”, “Whatcha Say”, “Ridin Solo”, “Marry Me”, “It Girl,” “Go Home”, “If It Ain’t Love”, “Other Side”, “Cheyenne” and “Talk Dirty to Me” before closing out his powerful Sunfest performance with fan-favorite song, “Want to Want Me”, the lead single from Everything is 4.
Dj Jae Murphy
J Agnew
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D. Parks
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Hey Sunfesters
Train Photos and Review by Sheldon Robertson
L to R: Jerry Becker Keys/Guitar, Drew Shoals Drums, Luis Maldonado Guitar (back), Jimmy Stafford Lead Guitar (front)
Hector Maldonado on bass playing tribute to Prince
This San Francisco band’s headlining gig was a week after the passing of funk/rock/pop/r&b superstar Prince, so it wasn’t surprising to hear “Let’s Go Crazy” being played as the group took to the stage. But what was surprising was that as the band-members picked up their instruments, they started singing and playing along with the recording, somehow managing to sound good instead of chaotic.
After the Prince opening, Train moved into its own material, kicking things off with a pair of its bigger radio hits: the mariachi-powered “50 Ways To Say Goodbye” and “If It’s Love” with its mid-tempo groove and stream-of consciousness lyrics.
After the Prince opening, Train moved into its own material, kicking things off with a pair of its bigger radio hits: the mariachi-powered “50 Ways To Say Goodbye” and “If It’s Love” with its mid-tempo groove and stream-of consciousness lyrics.
Pat Monahan
Nikita Houston and Sakai Smith
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Hector Madonado on Bass, and Jimmy Stafford on lead guitar
touring guitarist Luis Madonado
Drew Shoals on Drums
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Pat Monahan
The band followed those up with a pair of older hits: the easygoing “Get To Me” and the song that first put the group on the map, the 1999 single “Meet Virginia.” Lead singer Pat Monahan then announced that the group was in the studio recording songs for their upcoming album, after which the band played a new song called “The News” for the first time in public.
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The band continued its set with more of its monster radio hits: “Calling All Angels”, “Save Me, San Francisco”, “Hey Soul Sister” and “Drive By.” The encore consisted of the piano ballad “Drops of Jupiter” and a faithful rendition of Prince’s signature anthem “Purple Rain.”
Pat Monahan
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Monahan also remarked on how nice it was to have good weather for the show, and for good reason. For Train’s previous Sunfest appearance in 2013, the band had to deal with a soggy evening, complete with muddy grounds and a steady drizzle. But the group held the crowd’s attention then with a lot of audience participation, something which was repeated for this performance. As was the case in 2013, the song “Mermaid” was an invitation for the “little mermaids” to go onstage, and as he sang the songs “Marry Me” and “Bruises”, Monahan walked through crowd, shaking hands with the fans.