I arrived at the 2010 Northwest World Reggae Festival on Thursday afternoon and was greeted by the greenest venue I have seen in a long, long time. The forest here is full of deep magic. The people here are full of love and kindness. It’s just downright IRIE!!! As I drove through the site to my camp spot, I thought to myself “I can’t wait to come back here!” but then I rememberd I had just arrived…
Massive Respect and Sincere Blessings go out to all that make this festival possible. The People, the Youth, the Volunteers, the Sponsors, the Vendors, the Organizers, the Staff, the Fans, the Performers, and the Reggae Community Worldwide. A shout out to all of you: BIG UP!!!
First up for the weekend and she started things off Riiite: Queen Makedah performed a beautiful and energetic set that I felt blessed to see. Her Conscious Lyrics, Soulful Melodies, and Tight Riddims filled the valley with smiling faces.
Next was old school Reggae Legend Winston Jarrett. From what I hear, Winston is about 70 years old. I give credit where it is due…you should see the fire in his eyes when he hits the stage. It makes him young again!
Don Carlos & Dub Vision performed next. BIG UP with MASSIVE BLESSINGS for The Don and his band!!! The set was pure fyah!!! I was even lucky enough to get Don to play a song for me by special request…I have always known the track as “At The Bus Stop” but apparently, Don at some point reworked the song and the band knew it as “Oh, Girl.” Either way, this Rogue Agent was beyond stoked about it! Don is di MAN! Nuff said.
I hung out backstage with Norman of the Twinkle Brothers before they headlined the stage. Down to Earth, Irie, and Real is how I would describe our encounter. When the brothers took the stage, the roof blew off the freakin’ place!
Friday at the NWWRF came to a close for me at about 4:30am early Saturday morning…I had to see a bit of Heavyweight Dub Champion‘s performance before I hit the hay…they were definitely keeping the late night positive vibes up.
Saturday rolled around and I have to say, going out on stage for a solo acoustic set at a festival takes some big balls…and doing it with style takes major class…Santino Cadiz of Sar Shalom delivered a heartfelt acoustic set not to be missed!
Second to go on stage Saturday at the NWWRF, Voice Of Reason sang some sweet songs that got my feet a tappin’.
Tribal Seeds took the stage next: Youthful and energetic, these guys performed a rockin’ set.
I have to hand it to Wisdom…a mean MC with a wicked DJ and sick beats…BIG UP!
Fyah, Fyah, Fyah! Tippa Irie & The Far East Band was on Fyah on Saturday at the NWWRF. Super sick performance fa real!
NiyoRah has been one of my favorite conscious artists for quite a few years now. His energy, his message, and his performances are outstanding. Saturday’s performance at the NWWRF was no different….Niyorah brought di goods and delivered, big time!
Electrifying, entrancing, and surreal are the three words I choose to describe the performance given by Dezarie on Saturday night at the NWWRF. I was literally floating on a cloud of love and positivity. Massive Respect and a colossal BIG UP goes out to Dezarie and the band…Made my FREAKIN’ weekend!!
Bio-Luminesce performed right after Dezarie, but I didn’t get back to see them until 5 minutes before they finished. Super cool fire juggling and what not. Wish I could caught more.
Headlining the NWWRF on Saturday night was Ozomatli. High energy upbeat world music always make me smile, especially when the band doing the show puts as much enthusiasm into it as these guys do.
After Ozo finished up there was only one destination for all the heads that wanted to keep the party rockin’ latenite stylee…and that was Mountain Lion Hi Fi‘s Dome. The crowd was pumpin’ right along with the tight beats being throwing down…
All I remember on Sunday morning is waking up to the sounds of marimbas. I quickly made my way down to the bowl and fulljoyed 2 guys on Marimbas and 2 guys on Djembes freakin’ rocking it super hard!!! However, all I could find out about them at the time was that they were guests of Tippa Irie’s for the weekend. After a shout out to the massive via Facebook, I was enlightened by Ras Danny with the info. Ilanga was their name. I could not find a website for them, but they had a great sound that I would love to hear again!
Next up on Sunday at the NWWRF was I-chele and the Circle of Light. I had never heard this band before and was pleasantly surprised by their performance. Definitely Irie and full of emotion. I enjoyed their tunes immensely.
Taking the third slot on Sunday was Lilla D’Mone. An original singer songwriter with some great tunes inside her. I fail not to mention the more than an impressive band she’s got too!
I was looking forward all weekend to J Ross Perrelli‘s performance on Sunday at the NWWRF. She is super down to earth and really puts all her soul into everything she does. This shined through her big time during her set and brought many peeps to their dancing feet.
Loveness Wesa and the Bantus Band…where do I begin??? I think their performance on Sunday has got to be hands down one of the all time best performances I have ever seen in my 34+ years on this planet….FA REAL!!! These artists are toppa top. If you ever get a chance to catch their act, do not sleep on it, you will regret it!!
Sunday at the NWWRF moved along very nicely. Next up pon di scene was Marv Ellis & The Platform with Acoustic Minds. Sweet melodies, tight rhymes, and big beats made this performance a gem to watch.
The first time I was turned on to Albino!‘s music was back in 2006. Funky driving beats with horns a plenty is something I have always loved. Albino! gives us all something funkheavy to get up and shake our rumps to each and every time!!! Their performance on Sunday at the NWWRF was definitely a luxury I would love to enjoy on a daily basis.
Humble Soul performed on Sunday night as well. Now, I don’t know if it was the minimal lighting that caused the dull somber vibe or just my own head that couldn’t “feel it”, but I have to say that after hearing about these guys for days and looking forward to the last Reggae act of the weekend, I walked away from this band’s performance feeling a little less than fulfilled…but regardless of my own personal experience, I could see plenty of Peeps having the best of times dancing to the music!!!
Headlining the NWWRF on Sunday night was Garaj Mahal. Some say it was a sleepy set, I disagree big time. Being a fan of jazz fusion and tight musicianship, these guys really blew me away with their kick ass jams. I transported to outer space and back many times during their set. All I can remember is this floating feeling and then….it was over. The 2010 Northwest World Reggae Fesitval was done…and I thought to myself “Damn, this year KICKED ASS…which means next year is going to KICK BIGGER ASS!!!”
You can find some images from the 2010 Northwest World Reggae Festival on MassiveRespect.com here:
MassiveRespect Photo Galleries
And you can find even more on the Rogue Agent Photo Facebook page here:
Rogue Agent Photo Facebook Image Galleries
Bless up yourself Doug, Lindsay, and the rest of the NWWRF Crew that made this weekend one I will never forget!!!
See you August 12th through the 14th just outside of Marcola, Oregon!!!!!
Sincerely sending Massive Thanks, Praise, and Respect EVERYTIME!!!!!!!!
Joe McLaren
Rogue Agent Photo
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