ReggaeBus Festival 2014 - Event Report

29 - 30/08 | reggaebus festival 2014 - huge sessions agwaan inna brussels
100% sound system weekender

The Reggae Agenda Crew was off to the ReggaeBus festival. A festival we were looking forward to whole year. This was our first time and we can already say we hope it wasn't our last. What an inspiring festival again inna Belgium. A perfect setting for such a festival at the Tour&Taxis in the beautiful historic city of Brussels. Very easily reachable by car, plenty of space to park your car and a free camping area. The moment we got out of the car, the beats were welcoming us in.. We were a bit late, and unfortunately we had to miss out on acts like Jah Youth but Crucial Alphonso gave us a proper introduction to this ReggaeBus festival and we loved every minute of it!!

Crucial Alphonso
The moment we entered the Blackboard Jungle stage the party was already started and Crucial Alphonso really got the crowd going. He brought along some guests and together they made a proper introduction for our ReggaeBus festival. What a joy it was to see all those people enjoying the Crucial Alphonso tunes...

Blackboard Jungle - The rootical warrior sound system
A regular on the Reggaebus festival is the Blackboard Jungle Sound System. Since 1999, Blackboard Jungle embarked on building a sound system and they did a pretty good job as far as we are concerned. Hosting their own stage on a festival like Reggaebus is just the next step for this talented sound. They brought a quality set to the festival. Blackboard Jungle played a ton of Big tunes but our favorite for sure was: Jah Name - Mo'Kalamity. The place simply exploded with joy and the Blackboard Jungle alreade gave a warning for what was about to come on Saturday when they would meet up with King Earthquake for a six hour back to back session...

Aba Shanti I - Blackboard Jungle stage
Roots Dub legends Aba Shanti I were Friday nights closing act and what a session it was. A packed Blackboard Jungle stage came to pay their respects to this pioneer and to enjoy his great selections of hit tunes. We managed to get up a little step and we had a stunning view over the ReggaeBus festival's Blackboard Jungle stage which we couldn't resist to share with you. What a privilege to see, hear and feel these legends at work! This was definitely a session we will never forget and a righteous closure for the first ReggaeBus festival night which ended at four o'clock.

More Reggaebus Photo's by Irie-photography

reggaebus festival day 2 - saturday 30-08

King Shiloh Family Session - Shiloh Stage
After a likkle bit of sleep we had to rise and shine, and what a day was ahead of us... The mighty King Shiloh Sound System came to host the Shiloh stage for 7 hours and they brought a lot of guests. Askale Selassie, Nish Wadada and Dan-I came to MC and there was a very talented hornsman (Rootsman Saxophone) who came to play. It was an absolute joy to see this family thing and within a few minutes the Shiloh stage was packed. We left the stage for half an hour due to the heavy rain but when it stopped we went back for more and more we got. What a session again by the Shiloh Family!! We cannot wait until the next session we can visit!

King Shiloh Sound System ft. Dan-I

King Shiloh Sound System ft. Askale Selassie

King Shiloh & King Earthquake

Askale Selassie @ ReggaeBus Festival 2014

Channel One Sound

In 1979, Mikey Dread and his brother Jah T began to play at blues parties and local dances having spent many years under the watchful eye of their father, owner operator of the famous Admiral Bailey Sound. They chose the name Channel One in homage to the legendary Jamaican record label of the same name whose tunes featured heavily in those early selections. Inspired by Bob Marley’s belief in uniting people through reggae music, Mikey was keen to introduce new people to dub reggae music and started touring around universities, where he secured a solid fan base. We already had the pleasure to see, hear and feel the Channel One Sound at Reggae Geel and we were glad they were at ReggaeBus as well for again a BIG session. What a joyful sight to see these men do their thing. It was a proper session and the people really were warmed up for the closing session...

More Reggaebus Photo's by Irie-photography

Blackboard Jungle ft. Anthony John meets King Earthquake ft. Brother Culture

Blackboard Jungle, Anthony John, King Earthquake and Brother Culture treated us to a MASSIVE six hour session. Back to back, tune by tune. Both sounds brought their own sets of boxes and created a wall of sound in the Arena. Big tune after Big tune played by this great powerful sounds! Legend sound King Earthquake pumped up the volume the last hour and went all out on the die hard dub heads still out there. Brother Culture and Anthony John both proved to be excellent singers and MC's. This combination was just perfect and made us wanna stop the time right there in Brussels. But since all good things must come to an end this Reggaebus festival had to end sometime. A 15 hour marathon dance and still we wanted more...Only DUB headz will overstand!

Conclusion:

We are realy glad we made the trip to Brussels for the Reggaebus Festival 2014 at the Tour & Taxis area. The vybz were outstanding and Belgium is becoming a real paradise for true reggae & dub fans these days. The camping area was really basic but just perfect. The stunning tour & taxis location chosen for the festival was a big add-on. An impressive industrial setting perfect for the dub beats and the beautiful Reggaebus festival visitors. Festival highlights for us were the Mighty King Shiloh Sound, Aba Shanti-i, Channel One, King Earthquake and of course Residents Blackboard Jungle. Also nice to see the singers and players of instrument were there. Big up to Askale Selassie, Nish Wadada, Dan-I, Rootsman Saxophone, Brother Culture, Anthony John and any other MC or musician we've missed or forgot to mention. We fulljoyed every minute of it and are already on the look out for 2015 !! DUB DOWN BABYWRONG !!