Redemption The Return Concert Series
REGGAE MUSICIANS and artists have returned to stages across the globe en masse this year, as the music industry restarts and recalibrates itself following the past two years of Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns. Here in Trinidad, we experienced two years of no Carnival festivities and also none of the concerts or stage shows, which we had become accustomed to attending annually.
The Redemption Concert experience began in 2014 and quickly became an annual fixture on the concert calendar, as Tropix Entertainment assembled stellar casts of both local and international reggae acts much to the delight of our reggae-loving population. The first venue used for the Redemption concert series was the Hasely Crawford Stadium Training Grounds. However, it quickly outgrew this venue and was moved to the Queen's Park Savannah, where this years' concert will be held on August 27 starting at 7 p.m. sharp.
‘We know that the Savannah was dubbed Concert Capital many years ago,’ stated the official Redemption Return Concert spokesman, Seon Issac. ‘And it’s lived up to the name by being the most accessible, spacious, scenic and ventilated venue in the capital city. We want to welcome everyone back outside to celebrate the tenets of reggae music in the epicentre of the world’s largest roundabout…’
Reggae is the musical genre which revolutionised Jamaican music, but what is not widely known or professed is that the reggae ‘sound’ was actually created by Trinbagonian musicians and shared across the Caribbean archipelago throughout the late 50s and the 60s. The entire world knows that reggae music comes from rocksteady. What most people don’t know, however, is that although rocksteady started in Jamaica, it was started by a Trinbagonian. The creator of rocksteady is Nearlin ‘Lynn’Taitt from Trinidad and Tobago.
When it emerged in the late 1960s, reggae music came as a cultural bombshell, not only to Jamaica but to the whole world. Its slow, jerky rhythm, its militant and spiritual lyrics, as well as the rebellious appearance of its singers have all influenced musical genres, cultures and societies throughout the world and contributed to the development of new counterculture movements, especially in Europe, in the US and across the continents of Africa and Asia.
Indeed, by the end of the 1960s, reggae music and culture participated in the birth of the skinhead movement in the UK. In the 1970s, it impacted on Western punk rock/pop cultures, influencing artists like Eric Clapton and The Clash. During the same decade, it inspired the first rappers in the US, giving rise to hip-hop culture. Finally, since the end of the 1970s, it has also influenced singers originating from Africa, namely: the Ivorian singers Alpha Blondy and Tiken Jah Fakoly and the South African Lucky Dube clearly illustrating this point.
Over the past decade and throughout its six editions, the Redemption Concert Series has showcased many of the top, rising and revered reggae acts, including: Sizzla Kolanji, Beres Hammond, Jah Cure, Coco Tea, Anthony B, Morgan Heritage, Christopher Martin, Romain Virgo, Maxi Priest, Junior Kelly, Mikey Spice, Glen Washington and many more.
‘The true Redemption Concert fans will remember when Mikey Spice became overwhelmed with emotion on stage during his performance,’ recalled Issac, ‘When he saw the great crowd response as he rendered his big hit ‘I am, I said’ and couldn’t believe he had so many fans here in Trinidad.’
‘Beres Hammond has had so many memorable moments also and he’s always in great demand. Even though we try not to bring him too often so that people will not get tired of him, somehow every year when we ask the patrons who they want to see and hear, his name is always mentioned…’
The past two years saw the lights remain off for the Redemption Concert Series, as Covid-19 concerns prevailed across the globe and fans were forced to watch old videos online and digital memories on social media. Much like the demand for Carnival festivities across the Diaspora, the bonafide reggae fans have been calling and clamouring for a return to the stage-show, live concert experience, thus inspiring the new moniker ‘Redemption The Return’.
Alongside this much-anticipated return will be some evolution as well with the return of the Special Reserved Section featuring covered seating, an assortment of delectable finger foods and drink specials and giveaways; as well as the emergence of the first-ever Redemption Cabana Section, which allows for an ultra premium bar, tasty tapas and finger foods served by personalised VIP professionals, secured parking, top level security and the best view of the reggae superstars carded to perform on the night.
That’s right, the 2022 edition of the Redemption Return Concert will feature live on stage: Jah Melody, Isasha, Sanchez, Luciano, Ziggy Rankin, Richie Spice and Tarrus Riley. This Redemption Return Concert is also the return of the big live reggae show and is guaranteed to be a memorable experience couched in the tenets of sharing peaceful vibrations, unconditional love and great reggae music.
For more information, please contact the Redemption Hotline at 715-0029, or log on to the Redemption The Return page on Facebook.
