17 August 2016
The night’s festivities were opened by Leon Selecta from Radio Rototom and it was truly a great night. He started building up the atmosphere at 8.30pm sharp. The first live band to step onto the Showcase stage were Rebel Roots, from Galicia, winners of the Galicia Reggae Contest in 2012.
A mix of new roots and experimental dub. An optimum sound to open the proceedings. Next up was a highly anticipated set from Inna Cantina Sound, who incorporated the Italians Virtus y Rufino & Bonifax into their performance. Without a doubt, the band gave their all to a set of such quality and that was highly entertaining.
Turning to the performance of the rappers made in Italy, which, incidentally, was very well received by the Italians who came to the festival thanks to the request of Damien Marley and also the presence of Almamegretta in the Showcase, whose set left the Showcase crowd full of smiling faces. Rap artists try every year to play to those passionate about reggae and the Showcase always has space. The 15-minute power cut caused some tempers to flare, but the people of Sunsplash recharged even while awaiting the arrival of the moment ska, a confirmed and expected daily appointment in the Showcase.
A large number of Italians had waited until the end of Damian Marley’s concert to warm themselves up again at the Showcase stage and help in resounding show from Almamegretta. The group from Naples returned to the Showcase after a few years absence to present their new work, entitled Ennenne. The older fans were surprised by the new sound of the classics proposed by Raiz, Gennaro T and partners. It was a spectacular concert, with a dub vibration that went down well. The quality of the sound was smooth sailing, confirmed by the group’s philosophy, the dialectical encounter and clash between peoples, cultures, traditions and generations.
The Eazy Skankers took to the stage at 4.30, firstly joined by Sistah Awa, a well rounded artist that ties modern reggae with hip hop influences. She is one of the most promising voices in black roots music made in Italy, given the ease and charisma she had on stage. Excellent. She was really good. Attila continued the proceedings accompanied by Easy Skankers on the instruments. He has been singing at dancehalls all over Italy for the last 3 years, gaining a lot of respect in reviews and the public and finally arrived at Rototom. Another power cut stopped the proceedings, but the Italian showed no fear and continued singing and dancing with the public with his voice and clapping. Electrifying.
Paul Stones
