Saturday August 23rd sees two of Jersey’s finest come together to bring to you a full day and night of the utmost summery vibes – a packed event, which promises to be a highlight of the summer calendar. Yes, if you haven’t heard already, the boys at Rocksteady are joining forces with the infamous Rum n Reggae team.
After a succession of smash events already under their belt this year, Rocksteady have been honing some seriously quality nights at the Watersplash and having heard that the Rum n Reggae crew were looking for a new home, it seemed only natural that the two would mix it up in order to bring double the amount of Caribbean carnage to the Watersplash to top off the month of August.
Rum n Reggae was born last year, to the delight of hundreds of party people looking for something a little bit different. Spurring a wave in the rise of reggae events in Jersey, the original Rum n Reggae parties are something quite unique; authentic Caribbean street food, a heavy amount of rum punch and music that gets everyone up on their feet, is the typical format – no frills, just likeminded people partying to the sounds of summer. This upcoming collaborative effort with Rocksteady is taking things that little bit further. Having already booked some of Reggae’s finest artists, Rocksteady are super pleased to announce an already massive line up, which is growing at warp speed as everyone wants a bit of the action. In association with your favourite magazine, Gallery (yes, we’re in on the action for this one) and also those intrepid media moguls at The Observatory, Rocksteady and Rum n Reggae have some salubrious surprises up their sleeves, IRIE!
The line up as confirmed so far include the almighty Prince Fatty, featuring MC Horseman… a stellar booking indeed. Prince Fatty’s futuristic take on old school reggae, soul and Latin grooves – served up in a style that’s uniquely his and full of character – has made him hugely popular on the international club and festival circuit.
Prince Fatty first rose to prominence after Brighton-based label Mr. Bongo issued his debut album Survival Of The Fattest in 2007. Veteran Jamaican artists Little Roy, Winston Francis and Dennis Alcapone were in attendance for a set brimming with feel-good factor (exactly what Rum n Reggae is all about), and that was an instant hit with the party crowd. His follow-up was Prince Fatty Versus The Drunken Gambler – a glorious romp through reggae music’s past, present and future co-starring MC Horseman, Dennis Alcapone, Winston Francis and the Pioneers’ George Dekker.
Prince Fatty is the studio alter-ego of Mike Pelanconi. As a record producer, Pelanconi has worked with a diverse repertoire of artists and labels, from the acid jazz of the 1990s to rock musicians like Graham Coxon (of Blur), reggae legends like Gregory Isaacs and Dub Syndicate, and pop singers such as Lily Allen.
Prince Fatty will be accompanied by MC Horseman on the mic, who is known to many for their massive skanking version of ‘Insane In The Brain’. Horseman’s hard-hitting beats have backed the best Reggae artists in the business – Max Romeo, Little Roy and many more. Famous for his precision timing and fearsome delivery he is just as comfortable on the mic as behind the kit.
Next up on the formidable line up of international acts, Rocksteady are pleased to announce DJ Shepdog (Nice Up!)… DJ Shepdog is the man behind the hugely popular NICE UP! label and club night and responsible for some of the biggest reggae mash-ups in the last few years. Tunes such as ‘Bigger Than Jamrock’, ‘Skanking In The Way Of Control’ and ‘Dare Man’ have proved popular with DJs across the board and have earned Shep a reputation as something of a legend. With a mission statement of ‘righteous party vibes’, there’s always plenty of reggae, hip hop, dubstep and drum & bass thrown into the mix.
Having recently relaunched the label, NICE UP! are making big moves with recent releases from Monkey Mafia, Mr Benn, Turntable Dubbers, Richie Phoe, Dirty Dubsters and more…!
Finally, Snareophobe, who is happy to be bringing his global Jungle, hip hop, Garage, Breakbeat, Dubstep and drum & bass sounds back to The Watersplash, after performing a couple of years ago alongside Dub FX, Mr Woodnote, Eva Lazarus & Fernquest. Mixing up heavyweight basslines, scratching, samples, loops & FX. Hosting & mc’ing on his own sets, Snareophobe is described as a forward thinking music producer & DJ with a reputation as an act that never fails to blow up a crowd with high energy live sets.
As you might expect, this line up of formidable international acts is to be supported by a wealth of local talent. With a 3pm – 2am duration to party, the local line up spans the cream of the crop of local live acts and DJs… Any Given Sunday, David Keenan and Craig Smith thus far confirmed, as well as a list of DJs longer than King Kong’s fingers: Danny Booth, Stefan Rousseau (aka Stefunk), Colin Moore, Carrie Cooper, Chris Bell (Branchage DJs), John O’Connell and Ben Newman so far confirmed…
Rocksteady and Rum n Reggae are more than excited for this one, and we at Gallery have to say, we’re pretty excited too. The Watersplash was built for this.
EARLY BIRD TICKETS ARE BUT A TENNER – ADVANCE TICKETS WILL BE PRICED AT £14… SEE THE FACEBOOK EVENT PAGE FOR DETAILS AND KEEP A LOOK OUT FOR WAYS TO WIN TICKETS TOO!
