Benz World Blog » Reggae

The Wailers

Jason Benz — Mon, 18 Apr 2022 15:25:12 +0000

2022 saw the return of Reggae Royalty to Bluesfest. The Wailers closed the Delta stage on the final day of music. They are such a common sight on Bluesfest stages that they risk being taken for granted. Make no mistake, they are all reggae legends and it is a privilege to watch them play.

To say they captured the original ’70s sound is an understatement. Never has a band produced a more faithful live performance, of the original recordings. Close your eyes and you will think Bob Marley had come back to life.

I know of no other group who can fly halfway around the world, play for 90mins to any festival audience, most of which are younger than the tunes, and still have the crowd sing along to every song.

The crowd then called them back for 3 encore songs. First, they chilled the tempo with Redemption Song and the crowd responded by holding lighters in the air (but this is 2022, so most were phone lights) Then they played One World, One Prayer from their latest album which was quickly followed by Could You Be Loved, at which point the crowd erupted and five thousand people jumped in the air and began to move as one.

The Wallers released their first new album in 25 years. I have downloaded some tunes to help me get over the end of live music at Bluesfest for another year.

Next year’s festival tickets will soon be available from the Bluesfest website.

This image is available for download here.

UPDATE: The Wailers will return to the festival in 2026. Tickets are available via the Bluesfest Website.

Medicine Tribe

Jason Benz — Fri, 25 Mar 2016 10:12:45 +0000

This is Nahko and Medicine For The People playing a moving and high energy set on the Mojo stage of the Byron Bay Bluesfest in Australia. They are a world music collective which blend Reggae, Dub and Hip Hop with a message of humanitarian and environmental harmony. I got hooked on their tunes a few weeks before the festival thanks to a 2016 Bluesfest playlist which had been assembled on Pandora. The stage performance confirmed this is a special band worth checking out. (image download here)

UPDATE: Nahko will return to the festival in 2025, tickets are available via the Bluesfest Website.

The Wailers

Jason Benz — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 07:31:21 +0000

This is Reggae Royalty in the form of The Wailers playing the Delta stage at Bluesfest 2014. They are regulars to the festival, often playing consecutive nights, each one performing a different album, Exodus, Uprising, Survival and Legend. This was shot from the middle of the crowd, which is the best way to soak up the atmosphere. I always look forward to their return, and this time I will get a closer shot as I have access to the front of the stage. Benz World Blog will be posting daily images throughout the event.

UPDATE: The Wailers will return in April 2022. Interested? Get your tickets from the Bluesfest website.

UPDATE: The Wailers will return to the festival in 2026. Tickets are available via the Bluesfest Website.

Boundary Hotel

Jason Benz — Sun, 31 Jan 2016 01:36:35 +0000

This is a band called OKA playing at the Boundary Hotel in Brisbane last weekend. Their music is a beautiful blend of Reggae, Dance and Didgeridoo. I had seen them put on a great performance once before on their home turf of the Sunshine Coast so did not need any persuasion to go to the gig. I was in Brisbane to take my Australian citizenship test the following day. The test went well and I should get sworn in in around 6 months.

Ska Orchestra

Jason Benz — Mon, 06 Apr 2015 03:10:29 +0000

The Melbourne Ska Orchestra put on an awesome performance on the Crossroads stage last night at the 2015 Byron Bay Bluesfest. We never miss a chance to see them. Their energy is infectious, not only will they get your toes tapping you will find yourself dancing like a lunatic and having a thoroughly good time before you can say Madness. (image download here)

The Melbourne Ska Orchestra will return one last time for the final Byron Bay Bluesfest in Easter 2025, tickets are available via the Bluesfest Website.

UPDATE: In 2026 Bluesfest will be the last in a line of major festivals closed from increasing headwinds. This began before covid, with the previous state government’s legislative “war on festivals“. The new government risks letting this trend continue through inaction. However, you can change this. If 20,000 signatures are received, the NSW Parliament must debate Bluesfest’s future. #savebluesfest if you live in the state Sign up here. For everyone else, there is an international petition on change.org Sign up here.

UPDATE: Due to the success of Bluesfest 2025, its future has been confirmed. Discounted early bird tickets for the 2026 festival are available here.

Vision Gallery

Jason Benz — Sat, 19 Jul 2014 13:05:08 +0000

This is The Dillon James Band playing at The Vision Gallery in Brisbane yesterday. They play smooth bluesy reggae which is worth checking out. As well as live music this gallery also had a bar which is a little weird, but then in Australia you have a better chance of buying a beer in a library than a supermarket.

New Year

Jason Benz — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 16:49:19 +0000

This is Albany band Manaia who Rocked Hopetoun last night with their own brand of Reggae, Funk and Groove. After the gig the guitarist ask if I could get them a gig in the UK. Unfortunately it’s been 10 years since I put on gigs in Nottingham and I think persuading a venue to fly five guys half way round the world is beyond my ability. I wish them the best of luck and if they make it I would gladly pay to see them play again.

The last 25 posts I have been experimenting using sRGB colour space. From now on I am switching back to Adobe RGB as the last two low key gig shots displayed a lot of visible noise in the shadow areas when viewed using Firefox browser. Redeveloping theses images in Adobe RGB colour space has greatly reduced the distortion. I suspect this is due to the wider colour range of Adobe RGB being clipped to display on the web. The clipping will increase the amount of pure black in the picture which makes the image punchier and eliminates the dark grey noise.