Etana Live~ The Message is in the Music!

Hello Braapers~ Be Ready And Act Promptly!

Link to Etana's live show, (Islington Town Hall)- Courtesy of Music Media Management. 

Let's begin with the brilliant Mixmaster J- definitely perfect for the occasion! Mixmaster J expertly created the fun factor by taking people on a trip down memory lane ensuring they were happily engaged in singing and dancing to the soundtrack of their lives; adding an element of fun which made the time pass very quickly. I'm going to give extra credit here for Mixmaster J's choice of last tune- a tribute to the late Harry Belafonte- Banana Boat Song, a truly fitting gesture which everyone loved- you can read my tribute to Harry Belafonte here. 

Diania of Music Media Management with Mixmaster J

The Banana Boat Song acted as a great platform for the Hostess with the Mostess, Alison Mason, to sashay onto stage full of energy and bringing the glamour as always- naturally she received an instantaneous round of applause. Fact: I still remember the first time I ever came across Alison at Hootennay, Brixton, and the only word that truly describes her is Fabulous! Quick mention here,  Alison is co-founder of Shining Stars Ent UK along with Andrew Sloley, and they have successfully elevated their business over the last few years.

Alison Mason

Tonight we were treated to a performance by upcoming talent L.A. Gray, who stood in for Nereus Joseph and delivered three songs 'for the ladies!' L.A. Gray has an excellent voice which, when combined with such well controlled vocals, resulted in a really smooth delivery... tingle time I guess! I will definitely give kudo's for his great performance and also for his intro speech- fascinating!

L.A. Gray

Now back to Alison who introduced the band for the night, Reggae Street- who just took it away doing a great job. Alison danced along with them whilst awaiting Etana's backing singers who shortly made their way to the stage and also performed well all night. Soon afterwards Etana appeared, to the excitement of the crowd, and she went on to  deliver a full set which included covers of popular Reggae songs such as Love & Hate Can Never Be Friends and Bob Marley's One Love. 

What I really want to say about Etana is that not only does she looks stunning, but her voice is every bit as amazing. Unlike some artists, what you hear on the record is what you get live and the clarity of Etana's voice is just beautiful. I consider her a very good ambassador in the world of contemporary Reggae music, sharing her message with conviction. I started following Etana last year so am better versed in her more recent music as opposed to her earlier hits- Etana released her first album, The Strong One, back in 2008, so clearly I have a lot of catching up to do! I started following her Facebook Page last year when a friend of mine joined her band as guitarist. This proved a revelation when tuning into Etana's lives as she would sing and also speak her truths with us fans. I was very impressed and wrote about one occasion where everything she spoke about was truly inspiring. I also discovered Etana is Rastafarian, which is not immediately obvious, and I was pleased when she addressed some questions during her Facebook live which dealt with her dress choices and decision not to wear locks. Here's a link to the article breaking down the first half of that live. On this point, Etana sang a song about Marijuana in order to highlight the number of 'our people who are incarcerated' whilst others grow rich from it. This is an appalling truth and I was shocked when I watched a documentary about crack cocaine during the 80's on Netflix. This type of discrimination is still rife.

My favourite song of Etana's is, 'I Rise.' It's so inspirational therefore I often play it as motivational music- even to the babies at work! I think I Rise is a real modern day anthem as everyone can relate to it, deriving inner strength and determination not only from the lyrics but the way in which they are delivered; by the time Etana sang this song the vibes were pretty electric. Besides her singing, I'd like to credit Etana for apologising to people who had booked tickets for her original event scheduled last year- it's always good to acknowledge your fans patience and disappointment. I compared Etana to Mikey Spice recently in a quick video! Etana is very sincere and this was endorsed when she introduced young Kayla, who she met at the Brixton meet and greet, to the stage. Kayla gave an excellent rendition of one of Etana's most popular songs, People Talk, and it must have been a real blessing for Kayla to be given this unique opportunity to sing with such a great artist.

Kayla

When we nearing the close of the evening there was a surprise presentation made by Orlando Gibbons who is organising the first ever Annual Universal Reggae Awards. Etana was presented with an award for #1 Contemporary Female Reggae Artist In The World, and it was announced that she will be performing live at this event 29th July in London.

I love live music where you can really feel the artists vibe, so am really happy to have been to Etana's show and have to add that above all I love her original songs.

Jaz McKenzie~ The Word Magician 

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