Stirring things up at the Colombo Music Festival
The Colombo Music Festival (CMF), which concluded recently at the Havelock Sports Club Grounds, went out on a high. But the true beauty of the show lay in the message the artists spread that evening of hope, peace, love and joy.
The gates opened at 3.00p.m and both local and foreign concertgoers, were treated to a fusion of Sri Lankan and Reggae music with the likes of Irie and Unscripted, who delivered stellar performances. They kept the energy alive in the grounds, till the sun set and soon it was time for the International artists to take on the stage.
‘Big Mountain’ was first up and the excitement amongst the crowd was clearly contagious as the band picked up their instruments. Their unique sound, coupled with Joaquin ‘Quino’ McWhinney’s vocals soon had the audience hooked.
Aside from all of this, the striking aspect of their music was to be found in the lyrics that brought to light societal issues and the urgent need to protect the environment.
“We need to heal our forests, clean our rivers and our air. And we need to do this because we cannot let down the generation that’s coming after us,” Quino shared. “We got to do it for the children,” he adds as the band moved into a rendition of Cat Steven’s “Where do the children play.”
The evening continued with Big Mountain at the helm, until finally Quino sang out “Ooh Baby I Love Your Way” much to the delight of the audience. The familiar beat of the drums on the track followed suit and the band had the crowd singing along to every lyric, as they ended their set on a high.
If you weren’t a fan of Diana King back in the day, well the Colombo Music Festival was certainly there to show you what you’ve been missing out. The vocal powerhouse took to the stage next, amidst chants of ‘you go girl’ and ‘girl power’.
Her unique style of dancehall music, fused with reggae, was a treat to witness live. But, aside from her sound Diana King has always been renowned for her energetic stage presence and powerful lyrics that made one feel empowered, this was clearly evident as she sang ‘Treat Her Like A Lady.’ The song was quick to have all the ladies in the audience sing their hearts out.
As her set progressed, Diana also took a moment to spread a strong message to her fans. “You’ve got to love yourself no matter how you may look, because beauty fades through time,” she preached.
At this point the familiar tune of ‘Shy Guy’ sounded from the stage and she began to tease her audience. The song, which was the perfect ending to her set also managed to deliver a sense of nostalgia especially to those 90’s fans.
Dressed in a kangol hat, white shirt and sunglasses, his long dreadlocks reaching to his knees, Maxi Priest was the next act to follow.
Maxi continued to preach the message of love and peace. “Show me your hands if you believe in love,” he chanted as he began to work his magic on stage.
The beauty in Maxi Priest’s performance was his passion for his music. His connection to every note and lyric which he sang was beautiful. But the energy he delivered across the grounds throughout his two hour set was surreal.
He was also joined on stage by New Kidz (Anthony Bennett) who is also featured on Maxi’s new single ‘Super Wonder Woman’. Maxi’s guitarist JJ Sansaverino was also a notable highlight up on stage, especially with his solos.
The set featured Maxi’s famous hits such as ‘Close to you’ and ‘Wild World’. But the performance of the night was his rendition of ‘Say a prayer for the world’.
The festival took a short break after Maxi, and the stage was reset for Shaggy. The front of the platform began to fill up, with all the Shaggy enthusiasts, who were clearly excited to catch a glimpse of ‘Mr Boombastic’ up close.
The singer began to work his magic by getting the crowd psyched for his performance and soon had everyone singing along to his major hits such as ‘Angel’, ‘Wasn’t me’ and ‘Oh Carolina’.
Shaggy’s performance was the perfect ending to a night that was clearly nostalgic, but at the same time filled with positive energy and powerful messages. Indeed all the artists for the evening had certainly left their audience with something to talk about in the days to come.
Pix by M.A Pushpakumara
