nwworldreggae.com eugene, oregon

A review of NWWRF 2008 By Daniel Frankston of Sierra Nevada World Music Festival and Ireggae.com Putting together a reggae festival is no easy task. It takes more than a village, it takes an army of soldiers livicated towards a single mission. I got my first taste of NWWRF last year when Mark Wonder and Chezidek performed. The lineup for NWWRF 2008 was announced in May. When I saw Sister Carol, The Mighty Diamonds, Warrior King, Macka B, Army and Queen Omega were all going to be performing, I decided that this would be THE festival for me this year. From my perspective, there are four key elements to a successful reggae festival, and NWWRF nailed it on all fronts: A Nice Venue Smooth Operations A Crucial Lineup An Irie Crowd A Nice Venue – Situated on private property just outside of Marcola, NWWRF is an ideal location for a festival. The open field at the entrance provides for easy parking and access, and also allows for ones and ones who so desire to camp next to their vehicles. The main music area has a gradual slope so that you can see the stage even from the back of the arena. Majestic redwood trees encircle the music arena, and provide an amazing backdrop for the night-time light show. In addition, the property is ladened with small trails where you can wander and find some really irie groves to set up camp in. Smooth Operations – For a festival still in it’s infancy, NWWRF really seems to have all the bases covered. This includes a whole litany of things, but the things that come first to my mind include: • Having a complete lineup 3 months before the festival (all of whom appeared in spite of tribulations) • Corporate-Free vendors •100% Local Organic food vendors • No Alcohol Sales • Honey Buckets (port-a-potties) that were kept clean throughout the weekend • Garbage & Recycling – At the end of each night there was virtually no garbage in the music area and all the refuse had been fully processed for recycling. • Carts-A-Plenty – The festival supplied carts to help people move their camping equipment from their cars to the various camping groves for those who chose to camp away from the main field areas. • No Sound Curfew • Water Fountains and Showers – Irrigation pipes were laid down on the property which enabled the promoters to offer rustic showers and some very irie fountains throughout the facility • A most inviting stage – Nicely decorated with wood carvings and Flowers A Crucial Lineup – This is the one aspect which is a ‘known quantity’ before the festival begins. This year, the promoters seemed to have eschewed big ‘headliners’ in favor of conscious roots artists who are in it for the love of music and the message it brings. From a promoter’s standpoint, this can be a risky proposition, but one which clearly paid off at NWWRF 2008. In addition, each of the artists was given very healthy slots with which to share their message with the people. Where else can you go to a festival and get to see a 2-hour set by Macka B or a 31/2 set by Midnite? The lineup also included an Escort Service Showcase that highlighted much of the crucial reggae coming out of the NorthWest. An Irie Crowd – This is the one element that a promoter has the least control over. It is true that: 1) the choice of artists; 2) not serving alcohol and, 3) offering only organic food from local vendors does have some influence on who shows up for a festival, but in the end, you just never know what kind of crowd to anticipate. And the vibes at NWWRF 2008 were the most mellow I have ever witnessed at a music festival. No noticeable tweakers, everyone lending a hand to the person next to them and having nothing but irie vibes throughout the venue. The good people of Oregon should be proud of what was on display at this year’s festival. Maximum RASpect to Doug, and all the folks who spent the better part of a year in putting together this GREAT festival. I also have to give big props to Scotty One-Drop and the entire Escort Service who spent more than 8 hours on stage Saturday pouring their hearts and all their energy into every note they played. Musically speaking, The Mighty Diamonds put down a set that was stronger than anything I had heard from them since the days back in the 80s when they performed at one of those Peter Tosh Celebrations at the Henry J. Kaiser in Oakland. Celebrity Horns seemed to punctuate the set perfectly, and any band or festival would be well advised to automatically write Celebrity Horns into their backline… everytime!!! Macka B and Sister Carol (whom I rate as the bookends of intelligent, conscious reggae – the Alpha and Omega of roots music) were great, as was Queen Omega. Warrior King did a great job despite the adversity, and Ankh Watep’s rendition of “Mystic Emotion” was my personal highlight of Midnite’s marathon set that closed out the festival.