The age-old adage that you should not believe everything you read holds partly true for the Newport Waterfront Reggae Festival, held on August 14, 2010 in Newport, RI, from noon - 10pm, at the Newport Yachting Center.
How to begin? Starting with the positive, the reggae music lived up to the hype. The main act, The Original Wailers rocked the house. The seven piece band belted out Bob Marley tunes along with several original songs from their new album, "Justice". Former Bob Marley and the Wailer's band members, Al Anderson and Junior Marvin, sang their hearts out, keeping the soulful tradition of Bob Marley's music very much alive, and bringing the crowd to its feet.
Opening for The Original Wailers was progressive reggae band, John Brown's Body. Their show lived up to expectations as well, playing original music, and showcasing strong vocals and horns. Lead singer/guitarist, Kevin Kinsella (a cross between Damian Marley and James Taylor), delivered an energized, super tight performance.
Aside from the music, one of the highlights of the concert was the fact that the security people (while being successful at keeping any illicit smoking at bay), did a mediocre job of keeping everyone in their seats, allowing the more adventurous fans the opportunity to crowd the stage area and dance in the aisles.
Earlier in the day, reggae bands Rebel Heat, Soulshot and The Ravers delivered solid shows, playing mostly classic, reggae cover songs. Former Skatellites (Bob Marley's first back-up band before the Wailers) singer, Doreen Shaffer gave a sentimental guest performance during Soul Shots' set, her maturity bringing to mind how many years have passed since Bob Marley's last performance.
The" music festival" was not very "festival-like". Yes, the event was held next to the harbor as the advertisements and event organizers promised. But the venue was definitely not held in a "tropical-like" atmosphere. Instead, the venue was a small, fenced-in, asphalt parking lot belonging to the Newport Yachting Center.
Beginning at noon, the first three acts, Rebel Heat, Soulshot and The Ravers played in the open admission Courtyard area. At 6pm, the two main acts, John Brown's Body and The Original Wailers played under the Main Tent with assigned seating.
The Courtyard area and the vendor/bar tent simply did not have enough seating or offer enough things to do in between the bands' sets. Under the sun, the Courtyard was HOT, with one misting fan offered for cooling off. There were perhaps a dozen round, wood picnic tables in the Courtyard and a few in the tent/bar area, not nearly enough seating for a crowd of hundreds. Also in the Courtyard was a sparse group of vendors selling kettle corn, lemonade, ice cream, ribs and burgers.
Inside a tent that had no direct view of the stage, there were two bars and three kiosks selling their wares: 1) hippie clothingand tee shirts; 2) temporary tattoos; 3) jewelry and baubles. On a positive note, the two full bars and the one beer bar provided cocktails and beer quickly to the thirsty concert goers.
Fortunately, the event planners did have the foresight to allow the crowd to get their hands stamped, and come and go from the festival and into the streets of Newport as they pleased.
By the time the featured acts started at 6pm, the day had cooled off, and everybody had dispersed to their assigned seats in the main tent. As John Brown's Body hit their first rhythmic note, memories of standing in a hot, paved parking lot quickly started fading away, as the booming, soul-filling reggae music filled the air.
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