‘Roots And Culture 3’ Tour Rocks Marseille, France
Hundreds of reggae fans packed into the Le Molotov club in Marseille, France for super-charged performances during a Wednesday night edition of the successful ‘Roots and Culture 3’ tour with Lutan Fyah, Jah Mason and Zhayna which has been crisscrossing the European continent since March 1.
Reggae star Lutan Fyah was in scintillating form, wowing patrons with energetic renditions of ‘Rasta Reggae Music’, ‘Selassie I Beat Dem’ and ‘Rastafari Leads the Way’. These songs, with their Garvey-centric ideals and themes, set the tone for a roots-reggae kind of vibe.
However, the energy level in the club spiked as Lutan Fyah launched into a fiery rendition of ‘Bossman’, arguably his biggest hit on the European continent.
He clambered on top of a speaker box, holding onto the rafters in the ceiling for balance as he belted out: ‘Bossman, gimme weh mi come fah/stop beat around the bush/yu nuh see me frustrated and mi yutes ah dead fi hunger’. The patrons reacted with glee, jumping
While the Free People band continued to play the Bossman rhythm, Lutan was soon joined by Jah Mason — who had performed earlier — and another wave of excitement raced through the club as he used his powerful, gravelly voice to energize the crowd.
He then passed the microphone to emerging neo-reggae fusion singer Zhayna, who had opened the show with an immaculate set, and she began to singjay with the same infectious energy while the crowd cheered, each forward washing over the other like the waves of an ocean.
It was a special moment, three talented artistes joined in a singular purpose: waving the flag of roots and culture of Jamaica in a foreign land with fans with whom they did not share a common language.
After this moment, Lutan closed his set with Spliff Tail and Perfect Storm. The excited fans cried out for an encore shouting
Earlier, Jah Mason thrilled the audience with his seminal hit, My Princess Gone, and earned no fewer than three forwards on songs like Slip and Slide which appeared to be a big favorite with the Marseille reggae crowd. The crowd also cheered for his ganja ode, Mi Chalwa and his Farmer Man trilogy of songs: Farmer Man, From Wah Day Ya and Farmer Man Part Twice on the Double Up riddim.
Zhayna, who has emerged as a super talented performer during this tour, showed off her great vocal range on songs such as Runaway, Go, Trip and Coming for You. Females in particular seemed to be mesmerised by her command and boundless energy. She also interacted well with the audience on songs like Living Dangerously and Outside, before making way for Jah Mason.
The tour has energized the core roots-reggae fan base across Europe.
“The tour is going very well, routinely pulling 300 plus crowds on weekdays in Europe. The promoters of these clubs are happy because the tour is exciting the core reggae market and this move creates that momentum that will carry over into the major reggae festivals in Europe this Summer. I am very happy for Zhayna, Lutan and Jah Mason,” Cabel Stephenson, head of tour powerhouse Free People Entertainment, said.
The ‘Roots and Culture 3’ tour headed to the Le Rez club in Geneva, Switzerland on March 20th and the Kammgarn club in Schauffhausen, Switzerland on March 21st.
The reggae tour will return to France for shows in the cities of Villerupt and Chelles this weekend.