Taj Weekes Headlines a Weekend in Ya Maka

THE ROCK ISLAND ARGUS

Excerpt of article by: Jonathan Turner

Ya Maka My Weekend was the very first festival in The District, starting in 1992. Since that time, the event has changed yet stayed the same, Mr. Carl McClaskey [The District’s special-events coordinator] said. Visitors will "still find the same great reggae music and Caribbean food with a different twist each year."

Among the 11 bands in the festival lineup this year, new bands taking the stage are Taj Weekes and Adowa, Dred I Dread and Nite Flight, he said.

Taj Weekes has hit it big in the reggae world. A review of his 2008 disc "Deidem" (on www.reggae-reviews.com) said it is "smart, inspirational, musically vibrant and just plain gorgeous. No reggae fan can afford not to know Taj Weekes."

"With wry trenchant lyrics, a haunting dusky quiver in hi voice and the knock-down sound of his band Adowa, Taj Weekes has managed to weave a rare social consciousness with an unforgettable reggae groove," according to the Ya Maka Web site. "The moment he steps on stage, locks flowing, he reveals the regal bearing of a mighty lion, his voice rising from a hoarse whisper to a throaty growl."

Born and raised on the island of St. Lucia, Mr. Weekes grew up the youngest of 10 children in a family where music was ever-present. By age 5, Mr. Weekes was singing in church, and by the time he was 9, he and his brothers had formed a band.

"We were always singing and playing in my house," he says on his site, tajweekes.com. "My father was an incredible singer… We took that from him."

"Reggae is what you call the poor man's cry," Weekes says. "It’s music you can sit and listen to."

Mr. Weekes grew up unaware of musical category or genre. To him, great music was, and still is, great music, no matter what the style. "My musical influences were quite varied, 'cause the radio stations played all kinds of music," he said.

His "unabashed views on the shared concerns of the world at large are stated with the certainty of a man who has seen and lived through much," his Web site says.

Of the other new Ya Maka bands, Dred I Dread is a Minneapolis-based reggae and hip-hop band, its name meaning "fear my dreadlocks." Nite Flight includes members from St. Kitts and Trinidad, infusing its Caribbean style with reggae, calypso and soca music. To hear band samples, and for more information on the festival, visit www.yamakamyweekend.com.