.
By
Shelah Moody
Photos
by Shelah Moody and Michael Ealey
For
the past 19 years, promoters Warren Smith and Gretchen Franz have
presented some of the finest in reggae, global and indie music at the
Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, one of California’s most
beloved summer events. Each year, people travel from all over the
world to attend the three-day festival easily recognized by
its--initials, SNWMF.
Marking
their seventh year at Mendocino Campgrounds in Anderson Valley,
Booneville, CA, SNWMF continued the tradition; presenting with wildly
popular acts such as Third World, (Jamaica) Jimmy Cliff, (Jamaica),
dub poet Linton Kwesi Johnson (UK), Katchafire (New Zealand) and
Luciano (Jamaica) during the weekend of June 22-24. SNWMF 2012 also
celebrated the unsung pioneers of reggae such as Sister Nancy, Della
Grant and the Twinkle Brothers and Prince Alla; and showcased rising
stars such as Cherine Anderson, Romain Virgo and the iKronik band.
I
have followed the Sierra Nevada World Festival from three sites,
since 1995. Along with hearing some incredible music and grabbing
some exclusive interviews, I’ve fallen in love near the waterfront
at SNWMF, formed long lasting friendships and eaten the best handmade
chocolate dipped ice cream bar of my life. What a party!
For
me, one of the highlights of SNWMF 2012 was watching Grammy-winning
singer/songwriter/ film star Jimmy Cliff. You never get tired of
watching his lithe, agile frame move across the stage and hearing
his ethereal tenor soar across the venue. The Godfather of Reggae,
who also appears in the wildly popular documentary “Marley,”
performed his some of his biggest hits “Reggae Nights,” “The
Harder they Come” and “You Can Get it if You Really Want.”
Cliff introduced new material from his latest punk and ska
influenced album, “Rebirth,” produced by Tim Armstrong.
(Armstrong describes Cliff as one of the greatest songwriters of all
time).
When
I spotted another real life movie star, Leon Preston Robinson IV,
aka Leon (“Five Heartbeats,” “Cool Runnings,” “All the
Right Moves”), in the crowd I jokingly asked him what he was doing
out of Hollywood. “I thought this was
Hollywood,” he replied.
Another
highlight was watching Jamaica’s all-star iKronik band, featuring
Rolando “Phanso” Wilson (drums), Isaiah Palmer (bass), Dwight
“Duke” Dawes, (keyboards) Wendel "Junior Jazz" Ferraro,
(lead vocals, guitar) and Junior “ KavaJah” Johnson (vocals,
guitar, keyboards) bring their dream of becoming a successful
recording and touring solo act to fruition. On opening night, iKronik
performed original songs from their upcoming album including “Ride
On” and “Clean Heart.” iKronik also worked extremely hard that
weekend as the backing band for many of the artists on the bill.
“Our
performance at SNWMF was very significant to us because it was the
first festival that iKronik performed on doing our own set and
getting great feedback,” said Dawes.
“We
enjoyed sharing our original material with the patrons. It was a
thrill to see them responding to these songs that are new to them. We
also enjoyed playing for all the other artists Luciano, Cherine
Anderson, Prince Alla, Romain Virgo, Sister Nancy and Perfect. We
all have favorite songs by these artists and it was a pleasure
working with them.”
SNWMF
marked the return of the man with the velvet baritone, conscious
reggae singer Luciano, as Sunday night’s closing act, who delighted
the audience performing somersaults on stage and delivering his
string of hits such as “Who
Could it Be Now, “There's
No Love” and “Give Praise to Rastafari.”
Jamaica’s
reigning queen of reggae/dancehall/soul, Cherine Anderson proudly
represented Jamaica during the year of their 50th
Independence Anniversary. During a media conference the SNWMF press
tent, Anderson, who was influenced by Whitney Houston and Lauryn
Hill, sang a beautiful a cappella version of her new single, “Eagles
and Doves.”
Anderson
spoke about her struggles to get the song released and her commitment
to producing conscious, motivational, message music as opposed to
following formulas and trends. Anderson, who comes from a family of
all girls, also spoke of the importance of women supporting each
other. A protégée of the Grammy winning drum/bass duo Sly and
Robbie, Anderson rose to global attention after co-starring in the
Jamaican film, “Dancehall Queen” (1997), in which she played a
sexually abused teenager. As an advocate for children, Anderson
founded the Reach One Child Jamaica foundation, which provides
motivation and scholarships to Jamaican youth, in 2003. Children
love Cherine Anderson; it seems that that each time she performs at
SMWMF, she is mobbed by groups of wee folks for autographs and
photos.
When
I saw Cherine Anderson perform, I was blown away; at that moment;
knew why I given up a chance to see Anita Baker and Bobby Brown live
that weekend in order to attend SNWMF. Backed by singers Peter Gayle
and Jasmine Lue, Anderson demonstrated confidence, sensuality, style
and warmth on stage.
Anderson,
who described herself as an eighties baby, payed homage to imprisoned
reggae artist ( and Grammy winner) Buju Banton with her own version
of “Til Shiloh.” During her performance of another Buju Banton
hit, “Movie Star” (originally recorded by Delroy Wilson),
Anderson jumped off of the stage to touch hands with her fans in the
audience and make each one feel special by personally singing to
them.
The lyrics of her
composition, “Eagles and Doves” capture my overall feelings of
SNWMF 2012. Check it out:
Eagles
& Doves written by: Cherine Anderson, Produced by: Shadow &
Dream Queen
They
don’t know my story; They don’t know a thing about me who are
they to judge me
See
my glory; but they never see my pain
People
talk don’t faze I am not afraid of words that cannot break or harm
me
Watch
me rise no time for haters on my plane
No
one can hold me down Just watch me win this crown; No one can hold me
down
Fly
like eagles soar like doves Can’t nobody hold me down
I
got life I got love can’t nobody hole me down
So
raise your glass fill your cup tonight we’re gonna live it up
Raise
your glass fill your cup tonight we’re gonna live it up
Don’t
believe in failure we can do it we can rise above it dreams come
through
And
if you get knock down, you just get back up again
Friend
will come and go and the ones we love will hurt and even disappoint
too
Be
good to people and good comes back to you Chorus: No one can hold me
down Just watch me win this crown
Follow
the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival on their website:
www.snwmf.com
On
Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/SNWMFhttp://www.facebook.com/#!/SNWMF
