Why Chronology Is My Favourite Album

For a Jamaican, I have quintessential music taste. Sure, I do listen to lots of other things but reggae is my favourite music genre by far, as I’ve already written about with a previous WordPress prompt. In fact, I feel very happy to live in the birthplace of reggae and I’m very proud of the artistes who spread our music culture across the globe. We celebrate reggae music every week with numerous live music events across Jamaica’s capital city of Kingston, and each February is designated as Reggae Month in Jamaica.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle25 Comments
Gathering of people around performer on stage

Where to Get Weekly Live Music in Kingston

Kingston, Jamaica, is a vibrant city known for its rich culture, art scene, reggae music, and pulsating rhythms. If you’re a reggae music enthusiast looking for an authentic live music experience, you’re in for a treat. Kingston is home to a plethora of venues which cater to roots reggae lovers, offering locals and visitors alike a chance to immerse themselves in the island’s rhythmic beats. In today’s post, we’ll explore three live music venues in Kingston where you can groove to the infectious beats and sounds which make Jamaica’s music scene so iconic. These venues host weekly events which make up Kingston’s music calendar.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle21 Comments

8 Jamaican Music Festivals You Can’t Miss

Jamaica is renown for its vibrant culture, stunning landscapes, and, of course, its legendary music scene. Reggae, dancehall, ska, rocksteady, mento and dub are the six genres of music which originated on this island. What better way to immerse yourself in the rhythm and soul of Jamaica than by attending one of its thrilling music festivals? Here are eight Jamaican music festivals to add to your bucket list.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle19 Comments

Why Reggae Is My Favourite Music Genre

If I weren’t Jamaican, would reggae still be my favourite music genre? I guess that’s a question I’ll never have an answer to. However, as I answer yet another WordPress prompt, I find myself thinking. Why is reggae my favourite genre of music?

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle21 Comments

Reggae Month in Jamaica

Are you patriotic? What does being patriotic mean to you?

February around the world is a special time for people of African descent, such as myself. We celebrate the achievements of our race and our rich heritage, while pausing to reflect on the atrocities of chattel slavery which our ancestors endured and which interrupted our history for three centuries. However, in Jamaica, February has much more special meaning.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle38 Comments

12 Jamaican Christmas Songs to Add to Your Playlist

Today I’m taking you on a reggae Christmas musical journey with 12 Jamaican Christmas songs. Jamaica’s predominant religion is Christianity so we play a lot of traditional Christian carols in our homes and we sing them in our churches at Christmas. American Christmas classics make it on our airwaves too and a lot of us can sing these songs word for word, BUT it’s not really Christmas in Jamaica until the reggae Christmas tunes start playing. It’s a bit ironic that even devout Rastafarians have thrown their hat in the ring at remixing Christmas classics and putting a Jamaican spin on it, but regardless, these are a mixture of reggae Christmas classics which have made their way into our hearts and homes, and a few others which.. well, you’ll just have to see.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle20 Comments

Peter Tosh Museum, Saint Andrew

Peter Tosh is a platinum-selling Grammy award winning artiste and is one of the most talented reggae musicians to emerge from Jamaica. He got his claim to fame from the Wailers, a trio which also consisted of Bob Marley and Bunny Wailer. Peter Tosh was born in 1944 in Westmoreland, Jamaica’s most western parish and his life was brought to a brutal abrupt end in 1987 after a home break-in and robbery-turned-murder. Tosh had a rough start with an unstable family background, shuffled around from relative to relative based on circumstances but his musical talent emerged early despite the upheavals. Tosh is a self-taught guitarist and keyboardist who got his first real taste of music and performing when he moved to Trench Town as a teenager and met his fellow band-mates in the early 1960s. He taught them how to play, and they dabbled in ska and rocksteady before finding their calling in reggae, infusing their tunes with spiritual and political messages from their newfound conversion to the Rastafari faith.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle12 Comments

The Art Exhibit in Kingston You Need to See: ‘Jamaica, Jamaica’

‘Jamaica, Jamaica!: How Jamaican Music Conquered the World‘ is the latest art exhibit being shown at the National Gallery of Jamaica. It opened on February 2 and closes on June 28, 2020. It’s one of the most exciting exhibits ever launched by this gallery and was aptly opened in February, locally observed as Reggae Month. This exhibit was previously shown at Philharmonie de Paris in 2017 and titled “The General” after the 1985 hit song by artiste Brigadier. Renamed Jamaica, Jamaica! after gracing local shores, this exhibit documents how the tiny Caribbean island of Jamaica was able to become a global musical force to be reckoned with. The capital city of Kingston and venue of the exhibition is recognized as the birthplace of six distinct musical genres which led to Kingston being designated official UNESCO creative city status in 2015.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle15 Comments
Statue of a man and woman standing in a fountain

The Top 10 Free Things to Do in Kingston, Jamaica

Kingston is the largest English-speaking city south of the United States, the capital of Jamaica, and a city I’m proud to call home. Kingston is located on the island’s southeastern coast and is the heartbeat of Jamaica– the home of business, commerce, government and a spirit and culture which can’t be found anywhere else in the world. Reggae and dancehall music were born in the deep gritty slums of Kingston as a means by which the city’s most oppressed and impoverished could escape their struggles, and now the entire country, region and world pulsate to these riddims.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle55 Comments

Long Walk to Freedom Highlights

Born in the year of ‘Til Shiloh, Buju Banton’s first album released after his conversion to the Rastafari faith, Buju is the reggae legend whose success story my generation has had the honour of witnessing. Us younger folks didn’t grow up under the likes of Bob Marley and Dennis Brown. We grew up instead knowing that life’s Not an Easy Road and learning how to walk like a Champion. Another ghetto youth who showed us that hard work and dedication to one’s craft can elevate one from poverty, Jamaicans everywhere felt disappointed when we heard the news of Buju’s USA DEA charges for conspiracy to distribute and possess cocaine in 2009, especially given that we crooned the lyrics to Driver three years prior.

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Rochelle | Adventuresfromelle19 Comments