Words by DJ Gravy, Photos by Kevin Ornelas—
Last night, Mr. Vegas offered the audience at Miss Lily’s Variety an intimate preview of his upcoming album, Sweet Jamaica. The theme of the night followed suit with the album’s celebration of Jamaica’s musical legacy and its upcoming 50th anniversary of independence. Vegas was in great spirits and created a real moment in time with the help of his lovely backup singers, Tony Bone on acoustic guitar and Rob ‘Boomshots’ Kenner, who curated the performance, jumping on the mic every couple of songs to ask Vegas questions and generally comment on how unique and special this event was.
Vegas covered several festival tunes like ‘Cherry Oh Baby,’ ‘Take It Easy’ and ‘Sweet and Dandy’ while recounting the good ole’ days before it became all about clashing, when it was all about celebrating Jamaica’s ‘sweetness.’ During ‘Take It Easy,’ Vegas revealed how the synth line from his breakout dancehall-crossover hit ‘Heads High is actually borrowed from the Hopeton Lewis classic. He also saluted his favorite artists like Barrington Levy, Tenor Saw and Half Pint as he elaborated on in our recent interview with him.
The event was broadcast live on the recently launched RadioLily internet station and it was an undeniably epic sequel to the first performance at Miss Lily’s Variety, when Jimmy Cliff christened the stage at the pre-opening event a few months ago. Watch that Jimmy Cliff performance here and check back with us next week for the exclusive Mr. Vegas unplugged concert video, til then you can stream songs off his new album and yeah, you can thank us later.
