Reggae Singer and songwriter Tarrus Riley ended his 2009-2010 Europe and North America 'Contagious' tour on a high note closing with a sensational set at the 17th annual Bob Marley Movements Caribbean Festival in Miami, Florida.
After a successful leg in the US and Canada late last year, the artiste resumed his album tour in January through March, making waves in some 30 cities across France, Belgium, London, Sweden, Spain, Holland, Italy, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Germany as well as completing stints in California and Florida.
His first extended set in Europe, while the cold whistled and howled outside, Riley warmed patrons up with some sweet music on the inside.
uplifts the spirit
"With Tarrus Riley you can always expect to hear 'feel good music'... music with a meaning as well as music that uplifts the spirit and soul and I delivered just that. The set list had a great mix of material - hits from the previous albums including She's Royal, Lion Paw as well as current material from the Contagious album including Start Anew, Love's Contagious, Human Nature, Living The Life of A Gun among others," said Riley.
"The crowd was highly responsive at each venue and one could see that they were visibly tuned in, singing along with us word for word and really enjoying themselves."
Performing to sold-out stops each night across Europe including Ghent in Belgium, the Sapphire Club and the Brixton Academy in London, Stockholm in Sweden and the U-Club in Wuppertal, Germany, Riley, who was joined by rising reggae stars I-Octane, Duane Stephenson and the Blak Soil band led by saxophonist extraordinaire Dean Fraser, then travelled to the US where they were well received at the Fox Theater in Oakland, California, The Catalysts in Santa Cruz, the Arcata Theater in California among multiple additional venues before Riley capped things off as a headline act at the Bob Marley Movements Carib-bean Festival.
"The North America stops were also really great this time around... Still a bit chilly but definitely not as cold as Europe," said Riley. "We were concentrating this leg towards the west in California then headed south to Florida whereas the last time we touched a bit of everywhere including Canada, Rhode Island, New York, Virginia, etc. We again brought the best of our positive vibes, spreading the message of positivity, unity and love through good, clean music."
And while Riley was covering significant ground on his international 'Contagious' tour, he was also making a clean sweep at local award presentations as well as receiving international nods and securing top spots on international music charts.
number-one spot
At the Excellence in Music and Entertainment (EME) he copped the Cultural Artiste of the Year as well as the Best Cultural Artiste category at the local Youth View Awards. Following this, Riley's laurels continued with recent nomination for Top International Reggae Artist at RMAA (Reggae Music Achievement Awards) which will be held in Toronto, Canada, on June 12, 2010.
He also celebrates the number-one spot for his album Contagious in Canada on Galaxie TV Satellite Channel (Bell TV, Rogers TV, Videotron TV, MTS TV, Sasktel TV, Shaw TV, Telus TV).
A stellar first yearly quarter sealed by sold-out tours and significant wins and nominations, Riley, who is now back on the 'Rock' says he will resume writing and recording new material as well as continue to push his Contagious album which has been doing very well internationally.
"I enjoy writing and making music. That process never stops... I love what I put out and the people love what we put out so we always have to keep it fresh and keep it going."
COURTESY OF THE JAMAICA STAR
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