The second edition of Feeling International Reggae Festival took place on June 30th, confirming it as the most important reggae event in the Canary Islands calendar, both for its line up and for the 2500 people who attended the event which took place in the municipal stadium of Adeje, in the south of Tenerife.
The first part of the day was dedicated to showcasing Canarian reggae, with a solid One Xe Band, led by Ras Kuko, plus many of the best local artists: Lioness Den, Isaiah, Don Virgilio, Dadda Wanche, A’Jah Profecía Crew and Jamaican Sumerr, who now lives in Tenerife. The changeovers were taken care of by Lava Sound, Triggafinga, Chiqui Dubs from Panama and the Tenerife Dancehall Crew dancers.
Next up was Israel Vibration with The Roots Radics and the tireless voices of Flabba Holt and Dwight Pinkney followed by Tarrus Riley alongside Dean Fraser and the Black Soil Band, who set the audience alight ready for the headline show by Alborosie & Shengen Clan who played old hits as well as songs from his latest album – Unbreakable.
In addition to the live shows, the two days leading up were designated as two free cultural days at the Centro de Desarrollo Turístico Costa Adeje and Factoría de Innovación Turística de Canarias with discussions, presentations, courses, dance, exhibitions, workshops, freestyle battles, yoga and much more.
The round table discussion on “The (in)visibility of Women” took place on Thursday 28th, participants included Inma Galván (promoter, Ayatimas Reggae), Hermi Tacoronte (NGO Walk for life), Lioness Den (singer), Rosalía Martín Expósito (therapist), Cande Hernandez Marrero (activist, Solidarios Canarios) and Teresa Fontanelli (Run it Agency). They all brought their personal and professional views on the discrimination of women. Shortly before this, the artist and photographer Selector Marx explained the Paste Up technique, and then put it into practice outside with a demonstration of his work on the invisibility of women.
On Friday 29, Mar Sabe and Austin Taylor Wainwright recounted their experience with Open Arms – the body of volunteers who in under two years have saved more than 60,000 lives of people fleeing from Africa to Europe via the Mediterranean. Afterwards, producer Ras Kuko presented the Open Arms Riddim – a project dedicated to raising funds for this NGO. This first taste was aided by the acoustic performance of one of the singers involved in the album, Sumerr.
Meanwhile Miguel Caamaño presented a talk about his personal experience at the helm of the Alma de León program on Radio3, which this year celebrates its tenth anniversary.
Finally, during the conference “Reggae is more than music”, after a brief introduction to his 30-year career writing reggae music, English writer and journalist John Masouri, told a very interesting but little-known story related to Wailers, which ended by claiming the deserved recognition to the members of this historic band, in particular to the Barrett brothers, something that is often ignored by Jamaican institutions. Also present on this panel was the promoter Julián García (Roots&Vibes), who spoke about his long experience with reggae in Spain.
A percentage of the proceeds will be donated to aid projects supporting those in a state of social exclusion through the Fundación Pedro Roguez Ledesma and to the construction of a school in Gambia with Solidarios Canarios.
In conclusion, the Feeling Festival was a great success and proved it had established a solid foundation to build on this great location, allowing reggae fans to combine their holidays with live music at the same time as visiting a spectacular island like Tenerife.
