Both Tarrus Riley and Morgan Heritage paid tribute to the reggae artists that paved the way for them at the halfway point of each of their hour-long sets, including Peter Tosh, Third World and Gregory Isaacs. Both Stephen and Damian Marley paid homage to their late father during their respective performances, as they always do, as their way of carrying on his legacy.

Tarrus Riley, son of reggae artist Jimmy Riley, has been in the music business for a little over ten years, and his opening set on Sunday is indicative of the successful future he has in reggae music. Riley performed some of his older music as well as some of his newer music and one can see, from his performance, that he is passionate about what he does. One of the highlights of his show was his tribute to and impersonation of dancehall and reggae musician, Buju Banton.

Although performing without sister and band member, Una Morgan, Morgan Heritage took the stage following Tarrus Riley and through their music, reminded fans as to why they were fans of “the Royal Family of Reggae” to begin with. Having been in the business for over twenty years, Morgan Heritage have amassed quite a musical catalogue and during their hour-long set, they entertained attendees with songs both old (like “Tell Me How Come”) and new (music from their new album Strictly Roots). Their vocals meshed well with their instruments, neither one drowning out the other, and they appeared to genuinely have fun onstage and with their audience.

With his smooth vocals and demeanor, Stephen “Ragga” Marley played a very memorable set, which included guest performances from his eldest son, Jo Mersa Marley and his nephew, Skip Marley – both of whom are a part of the Ghetto Youths Crew and are continuing the Marley family legacy of making meaningful music. His hour and a half set included many of his original songs like, “No Cigarette Smoking” and “Break Us Apart”, as well as his father’s iconic music: “Lively Up Yourself” and “Pale Moonlight (How Many Times)”. For those fans yearning for a performance from Bob Marley & The Wailers, this was as close as they would get.

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Jimmy Cliff was the penultimate performer whose set began with his band members beating songs on African drums, before the 67-year-old took the stage for what was to be an electrifying show. With upbeat songs like, “I Can See Clearly Now”, “You Can Get It If You Really Want” and “The Harder They Come”, it was hard for the crowd not to dance along with Cliff (who has quite the dance moves). Cliff was fun to watch and he was just as excited to see the fans having a good time, as they were to see him. Cliff sang with passion and excitement, while moonwalking and air kicking all over the stage for the duration of his hour-long performance.

Closing out the Catch A Fire Tour’s Riot Fest stop was the youngest son of Bob Marley, Damian Marley. Anyone who has ever seen the youngest Marley perform live knows that they are in for an incredible treat, as the Jamrock singer and his band always put on amazing show. With visuals that were nothing short of amazing, Marley kept the crowd engaged with his strong stage presence, backup singers (who were also background dancers) and the sound of his notable voice singing and rapping some of the most meaningful lyrics over recognizable and remixed beats. The crowd sang along as Marley sang, in their entirety, some of his greatest songs: “Ghetto Youths” and “Love & Unity”. And like his older brother, Stephen, Marley paid tribute to his father, with his own renditions of “War/No More Trouble” and “Exodus”. Halfway through the hour and a half performance, Marley was joined by his brother Stephen and the two Marley brothers commenced their joint set, which lasted for about 15 minutes. The joint set concluded with Tarrus Riley, Morgan Heritage, Jo Mersa, and Skip Marley joining the brothers onstage for an impressive group performance of “Could You Be Loved”. Marley closed his performance with “Road To Zion” and “Welcome To Jamrock”, just as artists had completed a life-sized portrait of Bob Marley to the left of the stage.

Nothing negative can be said about what took place on the Roots Stage on Sunday. Bob Marley would have been proud.

photo by Kris Lori Fuentes Cortes

The post Catch A Fire Tour at Riot Fest Chicago appeared first on Quip Magazine.

This year’s Riot Fest was different than previous years. Traditionally it is a punk and metal festival, however, with festivals like Lollapalooza returning to their rock roots, Riot Fest organizers capitalized on the lack of hip hop acts this music season by booking some of the biggest names (and up-and-comers) in hip hop and reggae. An incredible lineup, on seven stages, along with its non-music related attractions, made Riot Fest delightfully overwhelming and memorable. Here are some of the weekend’s notable performances.

Post Malone: Texas-born rapper and musician, Post Malone only has a handful of songs, but the “White Iverson” rapper has a loyal and growing fan base. Malone took the Radicals Stage on Friday night for his 30-minute performance, which included a 10-minute DJ set with producer and frequent collaborator FKi. After enthusiastically breezing through “White Iverson”, with his cigarette in-tow, Malone took a quick, onstage wine break and went into “Too Young” and “TEAR$”. Post Malone had the tough job of performing on the Radicals Stage as Ice Cube was beginning his set on the Roots Stage (which was quite the walk). But knowing how huge it is to perform at Riot Fest, Malone took it all in stride.

Lee “Scratch” Perry: It wouldn’t be a Lee “Scratch” Perry show unless the man himself showed up tardy to his own show. Backed by his band, the Subatomic Sound System, who kept the crowd entertained during the wait, Perry finally took the stage, twenty-five minutes after his set began, and it was worth the wait. With his red beard and donned from head-to-toe in a very colorful and eye-catching costume, the 79-year-old reggae legend and dub music pioneer performed some of his most popular songs while persuading the crowd to dance along with him – which they happily did. For longtime fans, it was a privilege to see that this reggae great is still touring after such a long and successful career, and at this age.

Bootsy’s Rubber Band: Saturday’s lineup was metal and punk heavy, but the Mothership Connection did land in Douglas Park on Saturday evening and after a 10-minute technical delay, its passengers, Bootsy’s Rubber Band, were allowed to unload. With his band members dressed as astronauts and the bass rattling the souls of the thousands of funk fans in attendance, Bootsy, known for his over-the-top costumes, graced the stage dressed after his band warmed up the crowd with “Ahh…The Name is Bootsy Baby”. During his set, Bootsy Collins promised that “We’re going to funk you up” and that he did. He began to pay homage to the band that kickstarted his career, Parliament-Funkadelic – simply known as P-Funk to their fans – with “P-Funk Wants to Get Funked Up”. During a brief wardrobe change, the Rubber Band kept the crowd entertained by performing “(Not Just) Knee Deep”. Upon returning to the stage donned in all red, Bootsy went into an extended version of “I’d Rather Be With You” and closed the set with “Flashlight”. From his amazing bass guitar solos to his charismatic (and comedically dirty) speech, to coming out into the crowds dressed in his Chicago Blackhawks jersey, Bootsy Collins took home top highlight honors at Riot Fest’s halfway point (day 2).

Riot Fest’s third and final day was reggae and hip hop heavy (a rarity for the festival) as the likes of De La Soul, Cypress Hill, Snoop Dogg, Damian Marley and Stephen Marley took center stage. For the hip hop heads, the Rock Stage was the place to be as the day’s hip hop performances all took place there, while the day’s reggae shows took place on the Roots Stage. Crowd participation was at an all-time high during Sunday’s performances as many fans (both old and new) had been looking forward to this final festival day for months to experience these legends of hip hop and reggae.

Honorable Mention: Sunday’s honorable mention goes to Toronto-based MC, Jazz Cartier, who had the daunting task of performing in a 12 p.m. timeslot to the few festival attendees who managed to get out of bed early enough for his set. Cartier, who has a knack for throwing open water bottles out into the crowd, (he threw nine of them during his set) is very animated and full of energy. Cartier’s energetic performance gave life to the early crowd that started out small, but had swelled to a few hundred towards the end of his set.

He released his mixtape, Marauding in Paradise, earlier this year and performed just about every song during his show including, “New Religion”, “Holy Shit”, and “Dead Or Alive”. In addition to wetting his fans, Cartier enjoyed walking on the stage speakers, climbing the stage pillars, and starting mosh pits, without missing a beat on the microphone. Needless to say, Cartier gave his all at Riot Fest, built his fan base, woke everyone up, and prepared them for the remainder of the day.

Riot Fest Chicago came and conquered, and now as the traveling festival heads to its final stop of 2015, Toronto, with some lineup changes, it is safe to say that festival-goers are definitely looking forward to next year.

photo by Kris Lori Fuentes Cortes

The post Notable performances at Riot Fest Chicago appeared first on Quip Magazine.