Wendy’s Perspective: Roots Mountain Reggae Festival and More

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By Wendy Russell

Through the years you sometimes become friends with people you only speak with on the phone, or email back and forth, or even communicate with the old-fashioned way–letters by way of the US Postal Service. You may live hundreds, possibly even thousands of miles apart. But you are tight friends. That happened to me with a festival organizer up north in Tonasket, Washington named Gayle Hogan.

I was calling her about various articles I was writing for the Reggae Festival Guide, one year about her volunteers, another about the food at her festival. The next two years I was calling her and her partners, Matthew Woodson and Thome George, about booking the Twinkle Brothers and Della Grant at the Roots Mountain Reggae Festival. (There's another partner too, Thomas Cayton; he does sound and the website, rootsmountainreggae.com.)

Anyway, Gayle and her husband, and also a partner, Tim Eye Bowles, live the simple life and raise goats in the mountain-high desert and pine valley about 10 miles south of the Canadian border, up in the right corner of Washington State. Gayle also bakes fabulously. I care for my 41 turtles and tortoise pets in Fresno, California, a near-sea-level desert made fertile by piped-in water, but I never ever bake. I would call her and maybe she had just helped deliver a baby goat and I would talk turtle enclosures and eggs, mixed in with our business. (In 2000, they skipped a year of the Roots Mountain Reggae Festival and we reasoned over that, long distance.)

Last month I flew up to attend their Festival and met my new friends, plus saw many of my musical friends perform sweet songs: Sister Carol, Mystic Revealers, Ras Shiloh, Everton Blender, Spanner Banner, Richie Spice, Alpha Ya Ya Diallo, Rocker T, Sister Sara, Tchiya Amet, Reggae Angels, the Sisters, the Revolutionary Dream Band, Sister Luv, Cultivators and Civilized Animal. I-Word from the Bay Area was quite an inspirational MC plus he led nyahbinghi drum circles until the wee hours of the night... Sunday night his face was painted with vivid green triangles and yellow dots, wild in the light of the sliver of a moon...

Anyway, I flew up north to fulfill my job of Artist Liaison (total fun, thank you, Gayle!) and what a Festival it was, uniquely beautiful, musically supreme, and different from California Festivals. There was so much space, that instead of one big campground in rows of tents, campers, RVs and maybe a few big, decorated, Volkswagen-welded-on-top school buses, there were isolated camps and tiny villages here and there of tents, campers, buses, nomadic yurt tents made out of hemp instead of animal skins and many Native American teepees, scattered throughout the wide valley. And Mighty Jah's Nature was as much a performer that weekend as any human on the stage; such big-sky country gave awesome natural spectacles. I saw a rainbow over the stage during the great, two hour Mystic Revealers set at the same time that I could see a lightning and thunder storm way off to the south, over the mountains, all while I dance in brilliant sunlight in front of the stage, as everyone around me was double-clapping in perfect crowd beat!

Women on horseback led the bands down the road to backstage. Lupines, yarrow and yellow daisy flowers were sprinkled on the valley's floor. Saturday it rained fiercely for a short time ("The rainiest July in 18 years," locals told me) and while I waited out the pleasant rain, I noticed a big difference from California; not ONE umbrella came out while it was pouring rain! All the locals and travelers from the surrounding areas went on fun-as-usual, or waited here and there under shelters and canopies, all of us helping to tip out all the water sagging many of our shelters' top coverings... very irie... very mystical...

There was a meditation tent, with rugs, candles and a Bible. Many Native Americans in the crowd... Once again, I was brought to tears as I was struck by how we humans CAN get along so well together. I saw it at Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, again at Reggae On The River, but this very unity is so feared by Babylon that we are often hunted, but more often used against each other, socio-economically, or politically. Babylon preying on people's fears, causing divisions amongst us humans to occupy us, so we do not notice as our rights, energy, monies, secure futures and planet are destroyed bit by bit. United we stand against this, but divided we fall. Oh yeah, back to Tonasket, Washington...

The vendors sold ripe, organic fruit, edible snap peas, natural smoothies and baked goods along with the usual festival food, such as Papa G's–among the best fried snapper I have ever had! Signs said, "You bring it in, You take it out," about trash... Sister Carol was a musical highpoint as always, Alpha Ya Ya Diallo had the crowd wild... Partner Thome George told me that in the booking stages they had consciously MISrepresented the balance of male and female performers on stage as being equal, with nine female performers in the lineup. Organizing a festival is truly a labor of love and vision. Only one festival sells out two months ahead–the mighty Reggae On The River; the vast majority of Festival promoters hope to just break even. Roots Mountain Reggae Festival was a beautiful vision come to pass, and I was there to see it come true.

Then back to Fresno, California to the Starline in the Tower, to see Everton Blender, Spanner Banner and Richie Spice. Everton told me the Tonasket Festival reminded him of Jamaica, because it was in the mountains and you could hear drums all around you... yeah, that IS how it was... I remember staying in Jamaica's Blue Mountains–I could hear drums coming from all around me, throughout the hills, more so it seemed on Sunday mornings.

Along with many Fresno folk and thousands of others, I made the long trek to the 18th Annual Reggae On The River up north in Humboldt County, California the first weekend in August... Papa Wemba rocked, Labaja became a new favorite, and Jah's messenger, Luciano, well, there are no words for his performance--"awesome" seems a paltry description... He is a spiritual master. I can hardly wait to see him again at Rollins Lake Renegade Festival, Sept. 28, 29, 30 in Northern California, along with Culture, Spearhead and more.

September 1 & 2, I will be at Monterey Bay Reggae Festival along with many others of our reggae family, to see that stellar line-up which includes Alpha Blondy, Abyssinians, Israel Vibration, Steel Pulse, Bayanga and more–www.mbayreggaefest.com for more on that.

Then back to Fresno, September 9, for the '4th Annual Jamaica My Weekend', with the legendary Ethiopians from Jamaica, Bayanga from Puerto Rico, Mahop from Fresno, Red I from South America... for more on that, call me, 559 226 9280. This will be outdoors in the Tower District and All Ages are welcome. Vendors, Crafts, Foods and Beer Garden. Bring lawn chairs or blankets, your friends and family and unity vibes! Tickets in advance are $10 and $15 at the gate. For tickets call 559 497 8362. What a summer of sweet reggae vibrations!

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Wendy Russell, ex-promoter in Fresno, CA for 15 years is now Festival volunteer, organizer, writer and photographer, and also editor of Reggae Festival Guide. She is a radio DJ on Satellite Radio Bilingue nationwide, worldwide at www.radiobilingue.org.