In spirit

Two reggae gigs that I would've attended, if I was still living in Blighty, will take place soon enough. Up first is my favourite songstress Yaz Alexander, who will support the legendary Wailers in concert at the Birmingham Academy on Wednesday 22 April. The Wailers, Bob Marley's backing band, will perform the Exodus album in full as part of a 6-date tour they are kicking off in London tonight. Yaz will be accompanied by her two backing vocalists Anne-Marie and Emmah B. By the way Yaz will also support The Mighty Diamonds in concert at The Drum in Birminghm on 6 June.
The second gig where I will be there in spirit only, will be at London's Shepherd's Bush Empire on Wednesday 27 May, when the best band on the globe, Steel Pulse will perform as part of the Island Life concert festival, celebrating 50 years of Island Records. It was with Island that Steel Pulse released their first single, Ku Klux Klan and their debut album, Handsworth Revolution, in 1978, a watershed year in my music-listening history. Pulse went onto release another two albums whilst with Island, not to mention touring with the legend himself Bob Marley, another Island regular. Link: Steel Pulse.