The Reggae Revival Concert and Beach Party was the highlight event of the one-week Tmrw.Tday Culture Festival, which ends tomorrow. As the name suggests, the concert was heralded by some of Jamaica's contemporary reggae artistes affiliated with the reggae revival movement.

Held on Saturday night at The Boardwalk Village, Negril, Westmoreland, the concert presented Protoje and the Indiggnation band, Sevana, Runkus and the OldSkl Bond, interspersed with selections from official Reggae Revival resident disc jockey, Yaadcore.

First on stage was Runkus and the OldSkl Bond. Emcee Sheldon 'The Don' Shepherd said Runkus is a reggae revivalist by fateful design, as he is the son of recording artiste Determine, who did Kette Drum with Beenie Man, among other songs.

The young artiste delivered an energetic performance which, at one point, led him to hop off the stage and deliver an entire verse of one song while meandering through the crowd. Runkus' growing fame was evident during his delivery of Inner G and Burn Everything, which incited rowdy responses from fans scattered in the audience.

 

ODE TO REGGAE

 

The up-and-coming lyrical performer offered an ode to reggae as it once was, as his back-up singers took on a verse from Bob Marley and The Wailers' I Shot The Sheriff. Although the second-generation reggae artiste paid homage to the genre's most revered performer, Runkus' set included sounds akin to the delivery of rap and trap music. In a grand demonstration of versatility, the young artiste managed to infuse ska and jazz inflections.

Runkus and the OldSkl Bond were followed by the enchanting melodies of rising star Sevana. Recently returning from her first international tour, the songstress graced the stage in expert fashion. The Carry You singer expressed deep pleasure at being able to perform a stone's throw away from her hometown in Westmoreland.

While the opening acts spent a little over half-hour each on the Reggae Revival Concert stage, headliner Protoje spent more than an hour. One of the better-known faces of the reggae revival, the artiste demonstrated the breadth of his catalogue by performing work from all his past projects.