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5th Annual IRIE MUSIC FESTIVAL
Brings Hotbed of Caribbean Talent to Toronto!
Featuring Performances by
STEEL PULSE, ERNEST RANGLIN, SUGAR MINOTT,
LEROY SIBBLES, SATTALITES and GEORGE NOOKS
July 10, 2006 Toronto, Canada -- The IRIE Music Festival returns for its
fifth year with an extraordinary festival lineup that celebrates all aspects of
Caribbean music, culture, and history. The festival, which spans three days from
Friday, August 4 to Sunday, August 6, will once again feature stages at both
Nathan Philips Square and Ontario Place. With performers representing an
eclectic range of musical styles, a vendors market, a film festival, and much
more, the IRIE Fest promises to have something for everyone!
The 5th Annual IRIE Music Festival officially kicks off with opening ceremonies
and a noon-hour concert at Nathan Philips Square on Friday, August 4. The party
gets into full swing with a tribute to legendary Queen Street haunt, the Bamboo
Club, with a rock-steady double bill of Bamboo mainstays.
Charismatic singer, bass player, and songwriter Leroy Sibbles is best known for
his work as lead vocalist of The Heptones. His musical collaborations include
the instrumental ³Full Up,² popularized internationally by Musical Youth¹s
recording of ³Pass the Dutchie,² an adaptation of the Mighty Diamonds¹
³Pass the Kutchie.²
The explosive live performances of Juno Award-winning local favourites The
Sattalites have contributed to their strong and loyal fan base over the past 25
years, earning the group industry-wide recognition as Canada¹s ³ambassadors of
reggae music².
The musical extravaganza continues at Nathan Philips Square on Saturday evening
when the reggae music community honours the legacy of the crown ³prince of
reggae², Dennis Brown. The impressive list of performers includes George
Nooks, who performed as Prince Mohammed, topping the charts early in his career
with two hit songs ³Tribal War² and ³Forty Leg Dread². In 1978, Nooks linked
up with Dennis Brown to record the international reggae hits ³Bubbling Love²
and ³Cool Runnings².
This year¹s headline performance on IRIE DAY, Sunday, August 6, showcases three
landmark reggae music stars in a single extraordinary concert event at Ontario
Place¹s Special Events Tent.
· Master guitarist Ernest Ranglin offers up jazz-infused reggae
starting at 5 p.m. Widely regarded for his deep understanding and feeling of
music which at times is spontaneous, interactive, passionate, and sometimes
outrageous, Ranglin plays everything from calypso, ska, and reggae, to pop,
blues and jazz.
Sugar Minot, who is undoubtedly one of the elders of Jamaican popular music,
will follow at 7 p.m. The 30-year veteran is a significant figure in the
formation of music in the post ska/rocksteady and reggae eras.
Hot on the heels of an appearance at Jamaica¹s acclaimed Sunsplash Festival,
the Grammy Award-winning Steel Pulse will cap off the evening with their
original and distinctly high-energy style of reggae music. This vanguard of
reggae music¹s 1978 debut, Handsworth Revolution, is still regarded by many
critics as a landmark and high point of British reggae.
This IRIE DAY concert is the only ticketed IRIE Fest event. Tickets are $45.00
in advance or $55.00 at the door; a special purchase price includes a ³buy 3,
get 1 free² offer. Admission to the IRIE Music Festival at Ontario Place
includes the ³Play All Day Pass² entitling the bearer to the use of most
Ontario Place rides and attractions, including walk-up access to daytime
Cinesphere films.
A world-class lineup of musicians is just the tip of the iceberg at the
much-loved IRIE Fest. The annual IRIE Book & Art Fair kicks off its 5th season
with an on-stage presentation by prominent Canadian-Caribbean authors, poets,
spoken word artisans, and drummers. The literary extravaganza will be followed
by a Jamaican flag-raising ceremony hosted by the Jamaican Canadian
Association. The ever-popular IRIE Art Exhibition will also be on display in
the City Hall Rotunda from August 4 to August 6.
This year¹s IRIE Music Festival will turn the spotlight on Canadian-Caribbean
authors with the presentation of the Literature Alive Film Festival at the NFB
Mediatheque. Featuring the 13-part documentary series Literature Alive by
groundbreaking filmmaker Frances-Anne Solomon, the Literature Alive Film
Festival celebrates the wealth of extraordinary voices of Canadian-Caribbean
authors from the 1960s through to the hip hop generation. Featured authors
invite viewers to experience how the vibrant Caribbean culture continues to
expand around the globe, and how vital the act of storytelling is to it. The
Literature Alive Film Festival takes place on Friday, August 4, 79 p.m., and
on Saturday and Sunday, August 5 and 6, Noon5 p.m.
Sunday afternoon will be hive of activity as the IRIE Music Festival hosts a
provocative exploration of Caribbean Culture with the staging of an
Emancipation Day Panel moderated by Adrian Harewood. Renowned professor and
author Rinaldo Walcott and Ontario Black History Society President and activist
Rosemary Sadlier will be among the dignitaries on hand to debate, discuss, and
celebrate Emancipation Day. Vivine Scarlett¹s dance Immersion, an organization
that gives voice to dancers and dances of the African Diaspora, will follow with
the annual IRIE Dance Presentation.
An ideal way to experience Caribbean culture, the IRIE Music Festival has been
designed as a three-day celebration of music, dance, art and culture. Created
as a unifying symbol of Toronto¹s diverse cultures and traditions, IRIE Fest
is an opportunity to promote a greater understanding between the diverse
cultures and traditions of our world class city. This year¹s IRIE Fest will
share in the message of peace and understanding with a special Hiroshima Day
Commemoration Ceremony, which includes greetings from Mayor David Miller and
members of the Japanese-Canadian Community, as well as a riveting performance
by the acclaimed Yakudo Drummers. The cultural activities at Nathan Philips
Square wrap up on Sunday with inspiring gospel performances by some Toronto¹s
finest choral artists.
The IRIE Music Festival is presented by WORD Magazine and is sponsored by CITY
TV, Canadian Heritage, Ontario Arts Council, Toronto Arts Council, Guiness,
Western Union, TTC, dance Immersion, Burke¹s Books Store, Small Gallery, and
CARN.
For a full line up of IRIE Fest events visit our web site at
www.IRIEmusicfest.com.
Sunday, August 6, IRIE Day at Ontario Place
featuring
Ernest Ranglin, Steel Pulse, Sugar Minott
Admission:
$45 advance/$55 door
Buy 3 Tickets, Get 1 Ticket Free
Admission includes the ³Play All Day Pass² entitling the bearer to the use of
most Ontario Place rides and attractions, including Cinespehere films and the
Soak City Water Park. Ontario Place grounds open from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.; most
attractions open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Soak City Water Park open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
For more Ontario Place information call: 905-799-1630
All prices subject to applicable taxes.
Contact TicketMaster at www.ticketmaster.ca or call 416-870-8000
For up-to-date artist information please visit our web site:
www.IRIEmusicfestival.com
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For press related inquiries, send email to press@iriemusicfestival.com.
