Tarrus Riley and Friends returns Friday
Special tribute to be made to music legends
Published:Thursday | December 15, 2022 | 12:57 AMStephanie Lyew/Gleaner Writer
Reggae singer-songwriter Tarrus Riley is not about to compete with the packed calendar of events this weekend. He is focused on providing a star-studded showcase of wholesome entertainment with the return of Tarrus Riley and Friends, centred around promoting peace in the community through the celebration of live music as he has done for over a decade.
“It’s not about keeping a sold-out, ram-up concert. It is a clean jam session, a jollification that I expect to be warm and incident-free. I’m not competing with any other events this weekend, and my only expectation is that people are going to gather in the name of music – live music – and for us to have a beautiful evening,” Riley told The Gleaner.
TWO-YEAR HIATUS
Following a two-year hiatus, the Tarrus Riley and Friends concert will illuminate the Emancipation Park this Friday, December 16, under the theme ‘Let Live Music Live’ in hopes of urging more youths to play instruments and listen to local creatives bring the art of music to life.
Riley explained, “We have a lot of great, talented people here [in Jamaica] who play music and who can sing, and we just want to see them display this. This concert has been a platform where new artistes get the opportunity to showcase their talent and where a lot of people for the first time get to see them, and we want to boost it as that type of platform.”
By collaborating with popular international and local musicians such as Damian Marley, Protoje, Shenseea, and his mentor, Dean Fraser, the concert is also a way for all the artistes to give back to the community, he said.
“We don’t make it a habit to advertise the artistes who will perform on Tarrus Riley and Friends; it is not a selfish, money-making thing, and we just want to motivate a sense of family – the long-standing theme has been family – and to encourage the Christmas spirit,” he said. “Not everybody can afford to pay to go into a major concert, [so] it also serves as a musical treat to the people who are the ones who make us the superstars. I don’t promote a song there; I don’t sell anything. It is not about me. I’m just the host for the night. We will also [be] highlighting those who come before us.”
For its comeback, the event features a heart-warming tribute honouring musical pioneers who passed away in recent times, including Karen Smith, ‘Toots’ Hibbert, Bob Andy, Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry, The Mighty Diamonds and Robbie Shakespeare, among others.
Asked what the format of the tribute segment, if any, would be like, he exclaimed, “just come out and experience it!”
Crucially, the Simple Blessings singer-songwriter believes the concert is a way of “starting the season of giving right”, and that it is part of an ongoing tradition.
“Think about it, one of the last Mighty Diamonds’ live performances was done at Emancipation Park. We returning there has so much meaning, we’re dealing with something with honour, and this musical gift is more than Tarrus Riley and Friends,” Riley asserted.
Sponsored by Wisynco Group through its brand CranWATA, the Tarrus Riley and Friends concert is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. sharp and end at midnight. “It’s five hours of amazing, free, live entertainment,” emphasised multi-instrumentalist and co-founder of the event Dean Fraser.
Dean Fraser and Tarrus Riley are fresh from the Welcome to Jamrock Reggae Cruise, which featured performances by him, Sizzla, Ding Dong, Bounty Killer, Shabba Ranks and many members of the reggae and dancehall fraternity.
“It’s letting live music live while paying homage to all the great musicians and singers who left us over the past three years. This is just our way of giving back to the people of Jamaica, so we invite everyone, who can to gather on the lawns of Emancipation Park for a world-class show in the name of music and family,” Fraser said.