MUSIC

Taj Weekes, a St. Lucian singer-songwriter, opens the Mount Helena Music Festival Friday night, June 24. Although long hailed by reggae fans, Weekes defies simple genre formulas. His intuitive, intense songwriting ties together the many threads of his Caribbean heritage and honors his unflagging engagement with the world as a musician, philanthropist and lecturer.

On stage and on albums like the recent A Waterlogged Soul Kitchen, Weekes and his band Adowa unite a vibrant diversity of sounds with thoughtful, lush arrangements and a long-honed penchant for telling tales of hardship and hope.

This spring and summer takes Taj Weekes & Adowa on tour across the United States, including performances at the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, the Blissfest Folk & Roots Festival, and the River City Roots Festival.

“I don’t sit down and write socially conscious songs. I write songs about where I place my focus,” Weekes explains. ‘I grew up listening to the power of the music, the lyrical content. That’s what matters.”

For more information about the Mount Helena Music Festival, watch the upcoming Your Time.