“Run, come over… Rasta’s taking over, taking over…” The crowd gets frantic, screaming and singing along.
“Run, come over… Rasta’s taking over, taking over…” The crowd gets frantic, screaming and singing along.
This was the opening song by Psalm 87, the Grahamstown reggae band performing at Champs Bar last Saturday (10 August).
Psalm 87 refers to a bible verse that mentions musicians (“Singers and dancers alike say, ‘All my springs are in you’.”). Those who watched the band – an eclectic group of people from all walks of life filled Champs – certainly felt the blessings of the music.
The band is led by vocalist Siyabonga Masinda. Weila plays bass, Elder Don drums, Steven Ellery guitar and Jared Lang keyboards. Masinda turned out to be a charismatic frontman, who led his well-oiled band through the songs, leaving the crowd begging for more.
After the gig Masinda told Grocott’s Mail he was happy to see people singing along and dancing, enjoying the energy. "We did our best to carrying the audience from start till finish," he said.
The group was formed in 2008 and have come a long way since then. One of the highlights was performing at the National Arts Festival in 2011. They hope to record an album at Sonic Art Studio which should be out in September 2014. Psalm 87 will tour the Wild Coast from 20 September to 2 October and will play at the annual full moon fest and at a coastal trance festival.
For those who love reggae, Psalm 87 will be performing at Prime Club on 30 August.
