The umbrellas were just as colourful as the flags would have been, and served that role as well.
Rain, wet and slippery conditions nor a one-day postponement stopped the estimated 8 000 people from flooding Farley Hill last Monday for Reggae On The Hill, which brought this year’s Digicel Barbados Reggae Festival to a climax.
In what was a slight case of déjà vu of the very first Reggae On The Hill seven years ago, thousands of reggae lovers jammed in the rain to the hypnotic sounds.
The difference this time around was that the rain fell steadily from after midday for more than four hours that first time, while it was throughout the day on Monday, after being rescheduled from the previous day when Barbados was under a storm watch.
Several of the patrons had stories of that first show, which featured Junior Kelly who was also one of the major acts then and again this time.
Kelly appeared just after 2 p.m. and thrilled his audience with tracks like Sick A Dem Stories, Baby Can We Meet?, Sunshine and If Love So Nice.
He was immediately followed by Gyptian, who was ferried away after he left the stage to head out to St Maarten for another performance.
Gyptian dropped tunes like Is There A Place, Mama Don’t Cry, Fadda Say and Nah Let Go.
Right on his heels was Queen Ifrica, who many went to see and she didn’t disappoint. The queen appeared barefoot and she was obviously in her element.
Her subjects were caught up in the rapture of Lioness On The Rise, Daddy Don’t Touch Me There, Vampire and Keep It To Yourself.
She flouted her own advice when she openly shared her views on child abuse, especially sexual. She urged people to keep an eye out for their children when they go off to school.
A change in the running order saw Sizzla preceding Wyclef Jean. The little Rasta man spent about an hour on stage and sang 30 songs or parts thereof. They included Thank You Mama, Free Willy, Gangsta, Guide Over Us, Holding Firm, Mash Dem Down, Simplicity, Woman I Need You and Taking Over.
Jean brought the show to a climax with his show. Some of his own hits included Ready Or Not, Hips Don’t Lie, Dollar Bill and he incorporated covers from the likes of Mavado and Bob Marley, he also included some popular DJ tracks from the likes of Morgan Heritage to keep things hyped in the muddy conditions until after 8 p.m.
The Haitian-born singer showed his versatility by singing in Spanish and French.
Several local acts got the day underway and gave a good accounts of themselves. The early birds were blessed by performances from the High Grade Band, LRG, Lisa Angel, Buggy, Hotta Flames, Daniel and Indrani.