The biggest reggae festival in Europe this year will take place for the 25th time, and to celebrate this in style Rototom Sunsplash welcomes innumerable artists from all over the world, too many to mention, still we tried to make a selection.
After several years of absence, Reggae.be is once more delegating a crew to Benicassim in Spain to report on the festivities of Rototom Sunsplash from 17 till 22 August. The program is now complete and looks really impressive. Headliners of this edition are indubitably Jimmy Cliff, Fat Freddy's Drop and "artist in residence" Alborosie, while Orishas and Ben Harper are the traditional "outsiders" in an amazing line-up. We definitely won't miss David Rodigan & the Outlook Orchestra and Groundation serves as the cherry on the cake.
Africa is represented by Tiken Jah Fakoly, but Jamaica is obviously the main supplier of talent for the Main Stage, where big names like Beres Hammond, Tarrus Riley, Protoje, Konshens and Kabaka Pyramid will all make an appearance. We're going back in time with Mighty Diamonds, Sly & Robbie feat. Yellowman, Johnny Osbourne & Bitty McLean, and (what's left of) The Skatalites alongside Derrick Morgan, Doreen Shaffer & Vin Gordon.
We'll already see Andrew Tosh perform at Irie Vibes Roots Festival earlier this summer, but at Rototom he'll be joined by Keith Sterling and Mafia & Fluxy to posthumously honour his father Peter Tosh. No doubt Julian Marley will do the same for his own dad. We're also looking forward to the 30th Anniversary of Zion Train, the Lone Ark Showcase directed by Roberto Sanchez, and The Italian Reggae Allstars, hailing from the counrty where it all started for Rototom.
Rototom counts no less than seven different stages, of which the Lion Stage will host prominent artists from the likes of Mo'Kalamity, Hollie Cook, Skarra Mucci, promising new talent Samory I, veteran Alpheus and the French band Danakil, having a solid fan base in Wallonia, the south of Belgium or Beljam, as we like to call it.
This edition The Dancehall will be hosted by a number of well-established international sounds and deejays like Northern Lights, Jugglerz and Pow Pow Movement, together with King Addies, Freddy Krueger and - again - David Rodigan. There's also Jumping, where all types of black music will be played "to keep on dancing untill the early morning", a Caribbean Uptempo area, where ska and rocksteady rule supreme and Belgian collective Dukes vs Pirates will get the party started on the first day of the festival, and the African Village, but we'll probably op for the Dub Acadamy.
Once again it's French sound system Blackboard Jungle that's setting up its equipment for the entirety of the week, of course playing a few nights themselves as well, alongside Barry Issac, Dixie Peach and Don Fe. We can expect special showcases from Murray Man's Mellow Vibes, Vibronics' 'Woman On A Mission' and local Capra Records. We'll also get the opportunity to discover some new and unknown sounds, producers and MC's, next to the well-established names like Kibir La Amlak and the inevitable Jah Shaka. Violinist Ras Divarius is the second Belgian name in this year's line-up at Rototom, and will be brightening up the riddims played by Aba Shanti's son Ashanti Selah on Friday August 17th.
Summer's here, let the countdown begin! The clock on Rototom's website can help with that, or just tune in to the non-stop Rototom Sunsplash Radio to get in the right mood!
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