Head to The Drama Factory on Sunday December 8, at 4pm, for Reggae Night – where The Rivertones perform the hits of reggae legends Bob Marley (Jamaica), UB40 ( the UK) and Eddy Grant (Guyana), as well as some of their original hits.
The band had the honour of supporting Ali Campbell’s UB40 during their South African tour in 2023.
Reggae music, a treasured cultural export from Jamaica, has served as a unifying force among diverse cultural groups in Cape Town, with The Rivertones at the forefront of this movement.
The global popularity of reggae has allowed it to reach audiences worldwide. Bob Marley, one of the most influential and inspirational musicians in history, is often seen as the embodiment of reggae.
UB40, the iconic English pop-reggae band, helped define the British reggae sound with their romantic ballads and upbeat commercial hits.
Eddy Grant, a Guyanese-British singer-songwriter and musician, was the founding member of The Equals, one of the UK’s first racially integrated pop groups. He pioneered the genre known as ringbang, which blends rhythms originating from Africa into a unified sound that transcends geographical boundaries.
His music spans multiple genres, including reggae, rock, pop, electro-pop, funk, disco, calypso, and soca. Grant performed at Nelson Mandela’s 90th birthday concert in 2008 and was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the government of Guyana in 2016.
The Rivertones, founded in 2006 by lead vocalist Roland Geoffrey Nair, who made his stage debut at age 12, also perform internationally with their energetic, skanking, joyful, old-school reggae sound, promoting a message of “one love.”
Roland had the privilege of performing with Bob Marley’s legendary band, The Wailers, in Cape Town in 2009. His successful vocal performance led to an invitation to tour with Bunny Wailer during a Reunion Island tour.
Tickets cost between R180 and R200, and can be booked at www.thedramafactory.co.za
The venue is at 10 Comprop Square, Henry Vos Close, Asla Business Park, Strand. For more information, call 073 215 2290.
