Raggamuffin rocks the city

WHETHER you were after energy from performers or the good ol' reggae classics, it was all at Raggamuffin.

With international superstars such as UB40, The Wailers, Maxi Priest and Arrested Development lining up at the city's inaugural Raggamuffin festival at the Rotorua International Stadium on Saturday night, I was expecting an impressive night. And that's what I got.

The first international act to take the stage were Arrested Development - their energy, stage presence, dancing and powerful voices (from the females) were amazing. Performance-wise, they were the best of the night.

Next to hit the stage was Maxi Priest, who was later joined by his singer son Marvin Priest. The London-based singer performed many of the "nice" tracks he's known for.

Then there were The Wailers - my favourite act of the 10-hour festival.

When they hit the stage, you could be forgiven for thinking Bob Marley had joined them too. Lead singer Elan Atias, who is part Jewish, Moroccan and part Native American, was fantastic.

I understand now why he's often compared to Marley.

When you can get about 30,000 people jumping and clapping to Bob Marley and The Wailers' classics, you know you're doing something right.

Singing along was also evident, especially during No Woman No Cry.

The headliners were UB40 and I was eager to find out how they would mesh on stage given their recent in-house problems, but they seemed to pull it off .

Must be that thing called professionalism.

There wasn't too much interaction between the crowd and lead singer Ali Campbell, but I was probably just being picky. His thrusting-like dance moves were entertaining though.

Despite the group's problems, the crowd didn't care - they were too busy enjoying classics such as Red, Red Wine, Rat in Mi Kitchen, Bring Me Your Cup, and my favourite Kingston Town.

I found Katchafire were the best Kiwi band of the festival. They gave the best performance. Black Seeds, The Midnights and House of Shem also performed.

Overall, Raggamuffin was a well-run festival - it even ran on time. I can't wait for the next one.

KRISTIN MACFARLANE