Legend it was billed and legendary it was. Reggae worshippers, casual fans of the artform and the innocent observers were treated to a night of nostalgia and ultimate throwback at this year’s edition of Legends of Reggae Show & Dance.
The event which targets the “more mature audience” marked the opening night of the triple-header for the always-anticipated Barbados Reggae Weekend – which has grown to become a staple on the music and tourism industry calendar.
The location – the historic Kensington Oval – saw its cricket’s playing field transformed from hits with the bat on ball to an amphitheatre for hit-after-hit and tune-after-tune as late Friday night stretched into early yesterday morning. The audience which engulfed the vast field was taken through the last 40 years of signature tunes which resonated and brought back memories for older men remembering younger days and mothers and grandmothers reminiscing about their youthful innocence.
One mature lady who was dressed to impress in a black ball gown and with her dreadlocks resplendently presented was overheard saying in a strong Bajan accent: “I is a 70s baby . . . grow up in the 80s . . . and found myself in the 90s. All this time reggae was all around me . . . . I come out to enjoy myself.”
The moment of the night came in an unexpected fashion. It was a tribute by Norris Man to Freddie Hill, one of the pioneers of the Reggae On The Hill Festival which was the forerunner to the
modern-day incarnation. Hill was in the audience and was moved by the show of respect and admiration from the Jamaican artiste. Halfway during his set, he offered this address: “Persistence is to try and my message to every one of you in here at Kensington Oval is to never give up inna life. This is from the heart and I want to shout out to me brethren Freddie Hill, one of the most kind-hearted and one of the best promoters anywhere in the business . . . a man who shows he loves the reggae music. Big up yahself me general.”
He went on to make an impassioned plea to members of the society for an end to violence in the country.
“This is message of unity as we are all here tonight for the authentic reggae music. This is a stage show not a recording studio and I’m here to perform and entertain.”
Before Norris Man, there was Sister Nancy, who rolled the pitch for what was to come. Famous for her smooth style and pattern she whetted the appetite with her wonderful interaction with the audience while she proclaimed herself “de ram dance daughter . . . de queen inna de area”. A Rastafarian devotee, she called guidance on the proceedings and asked: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight”. Patrons don’t clap at reggae stage shows, instead they use their hands to wave in approval, salute and gesticulate; they move and groove to the melody to show their appreciation. Sister Nancy closed out the set with the signature What A Bam Bam.
Early Saturday morning JC Lodge went down memory lane and brought a concert feeling to her hour-long performance. Backed by local band, RiteSide of Red, she showed no signs of slowing down at age 67.
Like a true songbird, she arrived to sweeten things up and some sections of the crowd seemed moved by her old-school, old-fashioned way of delivering songs they fell in and out of love to in the 1980s. She signed off with the mega-hit Telephone Love which has as its hook line “you sound so sweet on the line . . . ”.
After the performance, she graciously engaged the media. Asked where she gets her energy to perform, she simply said: “It’s the vibes, it’s the music . . . that’s what reggae music is. I’m passionate about it and once I’m able to get up on that stage, I will continue doing it.”
The two headliners and legendary performers Barrington Levy and Super Cat, with their catalogue of No.1 hits, somehow failed to move the crowd. Barrington delivered a taste of his latest album with Money Is The Drug, which explores the concept of being addicted to the non-stop pursuit of filthy lucre under questionable circumstances.
Super Cat lived up to his reputation among the best dressed men in show business. He arrived on stage in an ash-grey three-piece suit. His choice of head wear was interesting – a white bowl hat with the FIFA Football World Cup 2026 logo. The Wild Apache recited his tunes accompanied by a powerful band but by the time he closed out the show at 3 a.m., a section of the audience had made their way to the exits.
