Toots, Holt headline Florida reggae show

Monday, February 20, 2012

THE south Florida community of Lauderhill, home to a massive Jamaican immigrant community, shows its patriotic colours on March 11 when it hosts the Icons Of Reggae show.

The event, to be held at the Central Broward Regional Park, is part of celebrations marking Jamaica’s 50th year of Independence from Britain in August.

While headliners include major acts such as Toots Hibbert, John Holt and Michael Rose, chief organizer Beres White told the Observer that Icons Of Reggae is more than just a live show.

“We want to have a salute to Jamaica, so there will be a cultural event before the show, featuring everything from mento to quadrille,” White said.

In addition to folk attractions, White said a documentary highlighting Jamaica’s achievements will be shown. Those milestones are drawn from popular culture, sports and politics.

Still, it is the entertainment aspect that is the event’s main thrust. Icons of Reggae reflects the evolution of Jamaican popular music, with Toots and Holt representing the ska and rocksteady eras of the early and mid-1960s.

Rose, who made his name as lead singer of Black Uhuru and the Wailing Souls, carry the flag for roots-reggae, which was popular throughout the 1970s. The outrageous Lady Saw and the ‘conscious’ Etana show dancehall’s different sides, while former UB40 singer Ali Campbell depicts the influence reggae had on British culture.

According to White, who is in his 60s, he and his colleagues deliberately went for a diverse card.

“Our music is just not nice anymore. We want to show our youngsters where the music came from,” he said.

White grew up in Trench Town, the gritty St Andrew community which produced performers like the Wailing Souls, Alton Ellis, the Wailers and the Heptones.

Since the late-1960s, White has lived abroad. For the last 30 years, he has resided in south Florida, where many Jamaican immigrants spend their retirement years.

In the 1980s and 1990s, White re-established ties with Jamaica, setting up the People’s Choice Studio in Spanish Town. There, he produced songs by artistes such as Junior Kelly, Leroy Gibbons, Ernest Wilson and Junior Tucker.