« Today's Daily Word - Tuesday, June 2, 2009 | Main | The GRAMMY Museum Presents Ziggy Marley at Club Nokia GRAMMY-Winner Celebrates Children’s Album Release With Los Angeles Family Concert at L.A. LIVE »
June 02, 2009
UCLA Jazz Reggae Festival
Soul singer Erykah Badu, the Morgan (Heritage) brothers Peetah and Mojo, Machel Montano, Tanto Metro and Devonte, Cherine Anderson, Assassin, Movado, De La Soul and Los Angeles native, Miss Leela James were the stars of the well-produced UCLA 23rd Annual Jazz Reggae Festival held over the Memorial Day weekend.
The two-day music festival showcased Jazz, Hip Hop, Soul, and Reggae under the theme "A Culture of Change".
From the Blues and Funk that characterized James’ performance, the show moved smoothly into Hip Hop mode with De La Soul whose energy was boundless. The entrance to centrestage of Ms Badu saw the crowd surging to the front, eager to see and hear every syllable. This soul sister hit all the right notes, from her attire and charisma to her inspiring repertoire. She was truly a class act.
Day two of the festival had the irrepressible duo Tanto Metro & Devonte who instantly connected with the audience and soon had them in a foot-stomping, flag-waving frenzy. Assasin, who recently changed his name to Agent Sasco, kept the dancehall vibes flowing.
Cherine Anderson tested the waters and came out a winner, but it was soca maestro Machel Montano who did the real damage. Machel was the boss, he was totally in charge and the crowd moved to his every whim. The real ‘Energiser Bunny’, Machel went on and on, but the massive had been warned and a sweating and tireless Machel played on.
Peetah Morgan performed a new single called “Secrets” off of his upcoming album, while Mojo introduced his new sound, Rasta Rock, which went over quite well.
And, like Machel before him, the crowd was just as hungry for Movado. By the end of his performance, however, they were totally filled.