Rastafarian Invasion!

Larry DiNota
Staff Writer

Local reggae phenomenon I Anbassa will conduct a free concert at the Performing Arts Center in Lafayette Hall at 7pm on Thursday, March 11th. If you haven’t added this to your schedule yet, you should, cause’ you’re in for a course in modern reggae.

I Anbassa will also hold a reggae culture workshop at 2pm earlier that day.

"I'm going to speak about Rastafarian culture and where the roots reggae is from," says Front Man Ras N'gosi. "I want us to have a small discussion on topics in our world..., environment..., [and] society that mean a lot."

The band will collaborate with the audience to create a song relevant to the attendants. The exercise is designed to invoke the Rastafarian spirit of unity- as N'Gosi says, "Unity is strength."

I Anbassa, an all original roots reggae group, features extremely talented musicians from diverse musical backgrounds: progressive rock, jazz, folk, blues, metal, soul, and bluegrass- to name a few. “It's plain to see we're all from different backgrounds...different genres of music, yet we come together for a purpose. We have like minds. We have like ambitions." says N'Gosi.

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The group came together in July 2009 after a chance encounter between N'Gosi and a local Bob Marley cover band, Green Stripe. Green Stripe had been backing local reggae performer Irei Feelinz, for a two month contract at the Chef's table in Fairfield.

"Irie would feature different reggae artists, and one of the artists that he featured was N'Gosi. He was by far the best. We all really wanted to play with him. A couple of months after the Irie Feelinz gig, he contacted me," said Lead Guitarist Mark Lyons.

"It was instant chemistry. A week later we had a 9-piece band." N'Gosi recollected.

Since then I Anbassa has wasted no time accumulating both a respectable fan base and reputation.

At their most recent performance on February 20th, the crowd was amazed by their incredibly entertaining performance.

Julia Hymans, director of premiums and promotions for WPKN said "They're a great local band...one of the better ones around here, and they're great people. I've been supporting them for a while."

And Julia wasn't the only member of the crowd who was impressed.

Throughout their impressive long sets, the audience is constantly engaged.

The performance began with a thought provoking narrative courtesy of dub poet and Tonic Brewer IsIdu. After priming the room, IsIdu bowed out, and handed the reins to N'Gosi. As soon as the music began, the crowd erupted into celebration. Few who stood remained sedentary. The venue was intoxicated with laughter, dance, and positivity. Two hours later, nothing had changed.

The show ended at 1:30am, but the crowd wanted more.

"The music was great, their presence was phenomenal, the energy was beautiful- the whole thing was beautiful," said spectator Mike as he stood curb side smoking a cigarette.

Mike's friend Jose added "They had the energy level. They killed it." Rahz, a spectator, jokingly added “I have cancer. After viewing that show, it’s cured.”

I Anbassa's performance was not a onetime success. "They've played for us five or six times," co-owner of the Acoustic Cafe, Jessica Apple said, "They usually turn out around one hundred people, which is about capacity for us."