Reggae On The River

For the past 20 years the first weekend of August in Humboldt County has been dedicated to presenting the annual Reggae on the River Festival. Festival organizers (Mateel Community Center) are to be commended for their hard work in providing an event attended by a record crowd of more than 20,000 patrons, vendors and volunteers. Vendors seemed to be satisfied as the crowd kept food and beverage lines crowded during most hours of the show. ROTR 2003 drew patrons from as far away as Seattle, Florida and New York City, all gathering together to celebrate the 20th annual event.
The lineup was impressive, with entertainment beginning at noon on Friday, and running continuously until 2:00 AM. Friday's entertainment included a variety of genres including John Trudell (native American), followed by Humboldt County’s original Multicultural hip-hop crew, Potluck. Friday afternoon saw performances by Tre Hardson (founder of Pharcyde), who is making his own soulful music. Friday evening was highlighted by two amazing performances by Michael Franti and Spearhead as well as Ben Harper and the Innocent Criminals. I am still undecided as to which of these artist had the biggest impact on the Friday night audience, which almost filled the venue to capacity by the time Spearhead took the stage. Harper, who followed Spearhead, is a master at playing the Weissenborn (acoustic lap guitar). He has taken a traditional blues instrument to mainstream audiences, and he can make it "talk" like very few artists before him. Ben Harper's strong soulful voice got the whole crowd stirred up when the band broke into their rendition of the late Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing.”
Saturday's entertainment began promptly at 11:15 AM and kicked off with Southern Humboldt County's jam band, the South County Dogs, who blended a perfect mix of reggae, punk and hip-hop, warming up the crowd with the promise of 10 world-class dancehall and roots rockers to follow. In the mid-afternoon, Israel Vibrations, singing all of their classics, did not disappoint anyone in attendance, and were followed by dancehall artist Vybz Kartel, Baby Cham and Wayne Wonder, who currently has a video in regular rotation on MTV2. Saturday evening we were blessed with stellar performances by Anthony B and Trinidad's Machel Montano & Xtatic 5.0. If you have not seen Machel Montano, buy a ticket the next time they perform in your area; their live show is amazing. Finally, about 1:00 AM, The members of Ghetto Youth Crew (Julian Marley, Damian Jr., Gong Marley and Steven Marley) took the stage. Even though their individual performances were good, I would have liked to see them on stage together as they did at ROTR 1998. Lately the GY Crew has been doing individual stage time, but for me it works better to see them all on stage at the same time.
On Sunday, ROTR fans were treated to the final 10 bands of the weekend. The artists ranged from Pato Banton to the sweet melodic songs of Judy Mowatt and Jamaica's longest running female vocalist, Marcia Griffiths who has been a favorite of reggae fans since the late 1960s. The middle of Sunday’s entertainment included the ever-popular Beres Hammond, followed by David Lindley & El Rayo X, who was followed by Toots and the Maytals. Jimmy Cliff was originally scheduled to be the headliner for Sunday and played an impressive set right before the Third World put on a stellar set as the last band for ROTR 2003.
From a production standpoint, the festival should get an A+, as the stage, sound and lights were aesthetically pleasing. The addition of two video screens on the back sides of the stage were crucial in allowing the audience to enjoy the show from far away distances. The sound company did an excellent job in providing the highest quality sound, free from any cracks, squelches and feedback. Additionally, Pacific Coast Stage Lighting did an excellent job keeping the stage light perfect with many vibrant colors throughout the festival.

– Words and Photos by Ajamu Lamumba

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