Month: March 2019
Riddim West – June 8, 2019
Re-imagined and re-branded — ReggaeFest returns with Riddim West!
After a year off, Calgary ReggaeFest is back on a new date, in a new venue and with a new name.
On June 8, 2019, ReggaeFest presents Riddim West at MacEwan Hall in the heart of the University of Calgary campus.
“The past year was used to assess and re-imagine the festival and determine what direction was best for its longevity,” says producer Leo Cripps. “We reviewed every element that would be beneficial to the event and moved forward to implement the new direction. We promised a different festival and that is what we will be delivering,” Cripps continued.
The festival will run over 3 days (June 6-8), with smaller events June 6 and 7, culminating with Riddim West on Saturday, June 8.
ReggaeFest continues its mission to present the best in local, national and international acts and the 2019 headliners feature Reggae messenger Luciano and dancehall champion Cham (aka Baby Cham) from Jamaica. Vancouver’s Delhi 2 Dublin, Victoria’s Phonosonics, and Calgary’s own Lynn Olagundoye and Jory Kinjo will complete the line up.
The 2019 ReggaeFest After Party will feature Jamaica’s dancehall master Hawkeye with Calgary’s DJ Sherman Hype.
Early bird tickets for Riddim West go on sale March 8 at just $30 for a limited time. https://riddimwest2019.eventbrite.ca
For updates stay tuned to Facebook , Twitter , Instagram, or ReggaeFest.ca. You can also follow our hashtag #RiddimWest.
Lynn Olagundoye (Calgary)
Lynn Olagundoye is front and centre among the burgeoning number of funk and soul purveyors in Calgary. A session veteran, Olagundoye marries a seductively smooth voice redolent of ‘70s R&B to a sound that incorporates the best of funk, jazz, Afrobeat, roots-reggae and vintage pop – recalling neo-soul singers like Erykah Badu and Jill Scott.
Jory Kinjo (Calgary)
Jory Kinjo brings a unique history to his music and draws from his experiences playing and performing Soul, Ska, Reggae and Rhythm & Blues all over the world.
Kinjo grew up in Calgary, AB. playing old-school soul music with long-standing soul band, Mocking Shadows. In 1999, he joined the band and warmed the stage for Canadian 3 tours with the B.B. King and other artists such as ZZ Top and Buddy Guy.
Kinjo formed “JK & the Relays” in 2009 and has toured such acts as Fishbone (LA) and the English Beat (UK). JK & the Relays were breakout performers at the 2012 Montreal Ska Festival and the 2013 Victoria Ska Festival.
Phonosonics (Victoria)
Phonosonics is BC’s fastest-emerging Roots Reggae and Rocksteady outfit. Hailing from the island city of Victoria, the project is the brainchild of multi-instrumentalist/producer S. Cleave and features some of the island’s top reggae talent. This powerhouse group has performed in club and top-tier festival settings throughout BC. It features soulful harmonies and electrifying danceability in a reverent update of the independence-era early Reggae sound. The band is equally comfortable with original material as with backing up other Reggae acts in styles ranging from first-wave Ska to modern Reggae and Dub.
Delhi 2 Dublin (Vancouver)
Nurtured by equal parts raucous underground bass parties and all ages folk festivals, Delhi 2 Dublin ’s always distinctive sound has evolved over the past decade into its own decisive genre, styled, “Subcontinental Pop”—a name that conveys both its deep South Asian roots and its expansive, crazy-fun appeal. The beautifully supercharged complexity of their sound flows from high-level folk and alternative-pop, blended and delivered across an array of acoustic instruments—dhol, tabla, violin, guitar—and electronic beats——and immersed in smart, heavy, sometimes gritty, and almost invariably joyful beats. Delhi 2 Dublin have the gift of connecting with masses of people, pulverizing their inhibitions, and getting them moving.
Cham (Jamaica)
Cham a.k.a “Baby Cham” (born Damian Beckett on February 24, 1979) is a Grammy Award-nominated Jamaican recording artist, most well known for his 2006 single “Ghetto Story” from his Atlantic Records debut album of the same name. Cham is still called “Baby Cham” by his Jamaican fans and fans from around the world.
“Ghetto Story”, led to multiple “story” songs by other artists in a similar vein. Throughout his career, Cham has collaborated with many hip-hop and R&B artists such as Foxy Brown, Alicia Keys, Carl Thomas, Shawn Mims, Akon, Damian Marley and T-Pain.
Luciano (Jamaica)
A superstar in his native Jamaica, Luciano combines his love of God and beauty into a soulful, spiritual blend of rock and R&B-tinged reggae. Born Jepther McClymont in Davey Town, he began his musical career singing in church and moved to Kingston to pursue music professionally. After McClymont had worked with prominent reggae producers like Herman Chin-Loy and labels like Aquarius and Sky High, Homer Harris of Blue Mountain changed McClymont’s name and he is now known as Luciano,