Go Lem and Levi Roots

Narberth Queens Hall has seen more than it's fair share of extraordinary events in its long history, and new one has to marked at the food festival gig last Saturday. Span Arts and the festival have always used the occasion to present something special to the hordes of visitors that the event inevitably attracts, but this year it was a double bill that surprised and delighted the dancers who came in droves to the festival.

International reggae star and Jamaican chef Levi Roots hit the stage running in sparkly suit and shiny shoes, backed by the Go Lem rhythm section and filled the floor at once with his Marley influenced roots reggae songs. Despite only rehearsing via email and phone calls, the Barcelona-Kingston connection gelled into a fine band that left the crowd yelling for more. Levi didn't miss the chance to invite people to taste a new hot 'reggae reggae' sauce of his own recipe at his barbecue at the festival the next day before leaving the stage to Go Lem System.              

  Despite having flown in to Liverpool that morning and driving all day to get to the gig, Go Lem System put on a full two hour set of diving, dancing, full throated music that impressed and exhausted the audience.The energy coming off the six man band got into the legs of the audience and kept them gyrating to their Manu Chao influenced music all night long. Perfectly poised tunes and soulful vocals were driven by a rhythm section to die for, and complimented by a horn section surely made in Muscle Shoals, so smooth and just right for each tune. This band is sure to make it big on the world festival scene in the very near future, and no one left the hall who wasn't danced out and flying home on the memory of a fantastic 2006 festival gig. DecSee

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