Rototom Sunsplash! Surforeggae went to Spain to experience the world's biggest reggae festival up close!

Reggae aficionados who like to watch shows have certainly heard of Rototom Sunsplash. The Festival, which began in 1994 in Italy, has been held in Benicassim, Spain since 2010. This year there were 7 days of events and many attractions and activities. In the lineup of artists, names like Damian Marley, The Skatalites, Natiruts, Julian Marley, Clinton Fearon, Sean Paul, Max Romeo, Marcus Gad, Morgan Heritage, Eek-a-Mouse, Horace Andy, Luciano, Burning Spear, Alborosie and Sly Dunbar & The Revolutionaries and Feminine Hi-Fi, also representing Brazil (in addition to Natiruts). There are also many activities and include a Social Forum with relevant discussions, the Reggae University, dedicated to panels and presentations by Reggae personalities, the House of Rastafari with themes linked to Rasta culture, a crafts market, clothes and other products, a space for children and much more. We decided to participate in this immersion and tell you below about the experience of going through Rototom Sunsplash 2022.

ARRIVAL

Rototom Sunsplash takes place in an event space in the city of Benicassim, on the Spanish coast. People usually stay at the Festival Campsite, Hotels, or apartments in Benicassim or in neighboring towns like Castellón de La Plana. The night before our arrival we learned that a windstorm had interrupted the festival and the area had to be evacuated for everyone's safety. As a result, unfortunately the presentation of Feminine Hi-Fi and others (such as Nkulee Dube, daughter of Lucky Dube) did not happen. To get there from Brazil the journey was long, starting with flights from Brazil to Lisbon, then Madrid, and finally a train to the festival's host city. Depending on the city of origin, it is also possible to arrive via Barcelona or Valencia, in Spain. At this time, the heat in Spain is very strong, so we prepared ourselves for hiking and lots of sun. We enjoyed the Festival from the third to the seventh day.

Day 1: RECOGNITION and SHOWS

On our first day of the Festival we arrived around 6pm to explore the area and enjoy the first attraction of the night on the main stage, which was the icon Max Romeo, an old acquaintance of the Brazilian public. Right away we noticed a large number of bars and restaurants, in addition to the two main stages (Lion Stage and Main Stage) and several areas dedicated to Dancehall, DUB and African Music. It is impossible to witness everything at the same time, so we chose to check out some of Reggae University, which on that day was attended by Xana Romeo (Max Romeo's daughter) and Aza Lineage, two artists who represent the great renewal and essential female presence on the international scene. Opening the night on the main stage, veteran Max Romeo at the age of 77 performed very well and put on a great show, being very surprised to see us right after the performance. The audience cheered with each classic like "War Ina Babylon" and "Chase The Devil". Max also gave an opportunity to his son Azizi Romeo who sang in the show. Xana Romeo performed her full show later on the Lion Stage alongside her father's own backing band. But the night also had several strong names such as Morodo, Yaniss Odua and Jamaican dancehall star Sean Paul. Although dancehall is not as strong in Brazil, in other parts of the world it brings together crowds. Sean Paul was the artist who brought the most people to the main stage, so much so that the sound seemed very low even closer to the stage.

Day 2: THE BIG EEK THE MOUSE

As the Festival shows start around 8 pm, during the day for those staying in Benicassim or Castellón it is possible to go to the beach or do a little sightseeing. The cities are beautiful and full of history and the beaches are equally beautiful. Opening the main stage that day, Eek-a-Mouse accompanied by Mafia & Fluxy stole the show. It was one of the best shows of the festival with several songs that made the audience vibrate, and of course, Eek as always making people have a lot of fun. We had the opportunity to meet him and he stated that he hopes to return to Brazil soon. Eek recently released a book "My Corona Year in Sweden" with incredible photographs and many reflections and stories that he lived in Sweden, where he currently resides. The other big highlight of the night was Morgan Heritage, which arguably presents one of the most solid shows in World Reggae. The three brothers Peetah, Gramps and Mojo accompanied by their super band closed the night with a flourish, showing hits and also newer songs. Morgan's show was also among our favorites.

BIG SURPRISE: MARCUS GAD

On the third day the body begins to show small signs of fatigue, after all the journey to reach Benicassim lasted more than 24 hours and the nights were long, including many walks to the Festival and within it, to get to know each of its properties. We usually left at 5pm and only returned at 4am, apart from activities in the city or beach during the day. The 20th (Saturday) was marked by the performance of Horace Andy, opening the main stage and the brilliant show by Marcus Gad, a huge promise of global roots reggae on the Lion Stage. Horace's performance featured a huge series of "Pull Up" - that is, at each introduction of the song, with the audience's vibration, the artist interrupted the band and started again. This is a habit of many Jamaican artists and sometimes uninformed people think that they return to music because the band made a mistake, which is not the case.After touring the festival we had the chance to get to know up close the artist who has been growing the most in recent years in the roots reggae segment - Marcus Gad. The Artist is from New Caledonia, a French territory close to Australia and full of tribes. The sound of Marcus Gad and his band Tribe is simply incredible. It was one of the best of the entire festival and undoubtedly deserves the main stage. The importance of the artist was proven by the number of people on the Lion Stage - according to what we saw, he was the artist who attracted the most audience on that stage. The repertoire was mystical and heavy, often recalling the sound of the Virgin Islands. The audience sang along at several moments and at the end of the show the artist and his band showed humility by going down to the side of the stage to take photos and sign records and posters for the fans.

THE PENULTIMATE DAY

The penultimate day of Rototom was perhaps the one that contained the greatest number of attractions that would please Brazilians. It was a true parade of legends, starting with The Abyssinians led by Donald Manning, at the height of his 82 years of age. Unfortunately, lead singer Bernard Collins no longer performs due to health reasons. The Abyssinians show was full of hits, especially from the albums "Satta Massagana" and "Arise". Another historic show marked that night - Sly Dunbar & The Revolutionaries, a special reunion of legends Sly (drums), Lloyd Parks (bass), Franklin "Bubbler" Waul (keyboards), Dean Fraser (sax), Lenky Mardsen (keyboards) and Earl "China" Smith (guitar). This true constellation of Jamaican music showed an incredible repertoire with classic riddims from the days of Channel One, including beautiful tributes to Tabby and Bunny from The Mighty Diamonds and Robbie Shakespeare, Reggae legends who recently left us. Just like on other days, we were privileged and invited by the artists to stay with them backstage - which resulted in many unforgettable moments as we hadn't seen some of them in years. The third show we highlighted that night was from Alborosie. In addition to being one of the main attractions that filled the Main Stage, Alborosie gave a memorable performance alongside his highly competent band - the Shenghen Clan. Without a doubt, it made an impression, we watched it from the stage and it was one of the shows that showed the greatest connection with the audience present.

CLOSING WITH A GOLDEN KEY

To close the Rototom 2022 marathon, the chosen one was the legend Burning Spear, who interrupted his retirement and decided to go on a tour that passed through the USA and some European countries until then. But before that, we were able to watch the excellent show by Jamaican Luciano, undoubtedly one of the best of his generation. Luciano is one of the names that keeps the Reggae flame alive, as many of the legends from the founding of Reggae are leaving us due to old age. Burning Spear's show featured their great classics, but we missed some songs like "Columbus". Almost all tracks in the repertoire gained extended versions with Spear playing the congas. "Door Peep", "African Postman" and "Old Marcus Garvey" were highlights of the show. The sound during Spear's performance was also a little low and you had to get very close to enjoy it to its fullest. Overall the veteran is in shape and we hope he doesn't return to retirement without first playing many more shows, including in Brazil. We were still some of the lucky few to be able to say hi to the legend, who remembered his show at the Salvador Summer Festival in 2006. After the Spear show, it was time to go home and remember forever the incredible moments we experienced at Rototom 2022. We hope you felt a little of the energy through our daily coverage and stories on Instagram and through the reports shared here. Until next time!