‘Dubwise’ brought a moment in musical history

It was all about the music at last Friday's 'Dubwise: Many Rivers to Cross' event held on West Kings House Road in St Andrew.

The event saw a huge turnout of music lovers and supporters of a worthy cause - proceeds went to Breds Foundation's initiative to assist in the rebuilding of the Treasure Beach community in Southern St Elizabeth. Dubwise's Jason Panton controlled the turntable for the early juggling before handing over to Rory of Stone Love fame, who kicked his set off with a cappella version of the national anthem that got the crowd's attention and appreciation.

"We are here for a purpose. What we went through with Hurricane Melissa was something that we never experienced in our lives, trust me. For some, it was total devastation. Can you imagine losing everything you own? So tonight we just want to remember why we are here and just dig deep because rebuilding will take time, but it is possible if we all pull together," he said.

No other song could follow this speech other than Junior Reid's One Blood which got the crowd saluting with fingers and phones, and this was followed up with Half Pint's Greetings, Jimmy Cliff's Many Rivers to Cross, Bob Marley's Iron Lion Zion and Third World's 18656 (96 Degrees in the Shade). For Stephen 'Cat' Coore of Third World, who recently passed, Rory continued down the musical path with a string of the band's iconic hits. Though the crowd was packed in tight, patrons still sought space to move about and dance when he offered up Try Jah Love and Now that We found Love.

But the highlight of the evening was Britain-born disc jock David Rodigan. At the stroke of midnight, the 74-year-old man in black took up his earphones and began delivering a history lesson while displaying true musicality that had his audience riveted from beginning to end.

"In 1970, I spent my first night in Edgewater, Portmore, and the mosquitoes welcomed me warmly. I was a young man on a mission to understand the music and the powerful connection it had with people all over the world. It's been decades, but the music still speaks to who I am, and that will never change," he said.

His heartfelt speech segued into Bob Andy's I Got to Go Back Home, which got a sea of lighters from the crowd. Showing that he still had some Mick Jagger-like moves, he began dancing at the front of the stage to the songs in his line-up, and with almost every song, he shared a tale about the artiste or occasion, and incredibly had a dubplate with almost every single deejay. From current artistes like Buju Banton, Busy Signal and Bounty Killer to Super Cat and Tenor Saw, he shared anecdotes about the artistes and where they were on their journey when he first met them. Honouring the late deejay Pan Head, he said that one of Buju Banton's biggest hits, Murderer, was in tribute to his senseless slaying at just 26.

DJs Jazzy T and Delano of Renaissance Disco took over the controls after Rodigan and juggled hardcore 90's dancehall standards well into the early morning.