THE BLUE LIGHT
MENTO BAND
T
he Blue Light Mento Band,
founded by Lanford Gilzene aka
Culture George, formed in 1986. All
the members of the Blue Light
Mento Band have a natural
grounding in music as a form of
everyday expression in their lives.
Vocalist and Guitarist, Lanford
Gilzene is originally from Trelawney
and also has a solo career as
Culture George. The elder of the
group, Banjo player Wesley Balds,
is currently 80 years old, hailing
from the town of Black River in the
rural parish of St Elizabeth,
Jamaica. He taught himself to play
by ear as a child, convincing his
grandmother to purchase a banjo
for him after becoming fascinating
by the Mento sound. The
dreadlocked Rhumba Box player
RAYZALUTION BAND
R
ayzalution All Female Reggae
Band is right now the only all-
female reggae band in Toronto,
Canada. The band was founded in
2016 by Chantel McKnight who is
the band leader and bass player.
The band’s repertoire consists of
cover arrangements of classic and
present-day reggae hits that are
designed to entertain, educate and
enlighten all types of individuals.
This band is already a force to
reckon with in the industry.
Rayzalution
Band’s
live
performances promises not just
harmonic music for your ears, but
also an influential experience you’ll
never forget. The band promotes
Courtney Clarke comes from the
district of Granville, on the outlying
edge of Montego Bay, he turned to
music during his teens after being
taught the art of the Rhumba Box
by a neighbour. Vocalist and
Shaker player Donnette Leslie, who
comes from the remote Cave
district near Bluefields, was lured
into music after Lanford Gilzene
spotted her talents on the
keyboards.
In 1991, they won the annual
Festival song competition with ‘Oh
It Is Jamaica’ and won the Pop and
Variety competition in Trelawney
with ‘Mammy Come Dance This
Festival’ The Blue Light Mento
Band has been a popular feature of
countless festivals in Jamaica,
including Harbour Fest, Ocean
Spray Fest and the massive
Denbigh Agricultural Show. They
were particularly popular at the
Jamaica Coffee Festival, in 2005 at
the grounds of Devon House in
uptown Kingston. As group
members all come from remote and
underdeveloped areas of Jamaica,
their sound is unadulterated by
urban influences, retaining the
country feel that has always
defined Mento’s original form. You
can look for them on YouTube and
Facebook @Lanford Gilzene.
positivity and spreads a conscious
message while still having a good
time entertaining the audience. The
group’s musical influences include
Bob Marley, Freddy McGregor,
Marcia Griffiths, Rita Marley, Pam
Hall, Third World, Rihanna, Lauryn
Hill, Destiny’s Child, and Jill Scott
to name few. The band has an
exceptional
sound
blending
Reggae with other Caribbean &
Western
flavors
of
music
generating something diverse for
the Canadian Reggae Music-
Industry. The band’s objective is to
represent and showcase female
musicians and to deliver reggae
music expressing the love, peace,
togetherness
and
spirituality
needed in our world today. In spite
of the band being very young, the
band was fortunate to share the
stage with international Reggae
Acts like Maxi Priest, Freddie
McGregor, Baby Cham, Romain
Virgo, Dexta Daps, Mikey Spice
and Razor B to name a few. The
band is currently in studio working
on their first original single to be
released in March, 2018. For
bookings
contact:
Penny
Providence @ 647-471-3847 or
[email protected]
or [email protected].
reggaeXclusive -- Web Site: www.reggaexclusive.com --- Phone: 416-519-0831 -- Email: [email protected] Pg - 21