The Elovaters

A listen of any Collie Buddz song (or, for a lot of people, even the mention of his name) is guaranteed to put a smile on your face- with songs like his breakout hit celebrating the herb, ‘Come Around’, as well as laid-back anthems about chasing girls such as ‘Mamacita’ and ‘She Gimme Love’, it’s hard to no enjoy his music. As a live act, Collie Buddz is equally as easy to get along with. Onstage, the Bermudan boy wonder exudes good vibes and addresses his audience as if they’re old buddies that he’s known for years, a style which goes hand in hand with his unique take on the ‘reggae-crossover’ genre of music.
When I saw Collie Buddz a couple of years ago at the Fox Theatre in Boulder, he was fresh from the release of a new single, ‘Live Life’, which he played excitedly towards the start of the set, and which got the crowd bumping and grooving away in anticipation for more. The highlights of the night included, of course, the anthemic ‘Come Around’, which began his encore, as well as the lady-appreciatin’ ‘Mamacita’ and his homage to Bob Marley with a cover of ‘No Woman, No Cry’ to top it all off. A super happy crowd, fun-loving beats, and a voice to tear down the walls with, Collie Buddz really brought the party to Boulder that night. If you want a guarantee of a good night out, go see him!

Reggae is one of those musical styles which just feels completely timeless. No matter what era it’s from, when you hear the hallmark reggae drums and off-beat chords its always going to be good vibes no matter what year it was made. Some artists, such as Protoje, are doing a great job of instilling that timeless reggae vibe into a more contemporary setting and its resulting in some really great cutting-edge Jamaican music.

For such a typically chilled genre, Protoje and his band do a great job of injecting in some real energy. As the drums build up the pace throughout the songs, jams can erupt where scratchy guitar leads mesh with the echoey piano tones to create something truly blissful. This sense of euphoria extends into the vocals which are led by Protoje’s dominant tone but as the songs pick up the pace multiple vocalists join the set creating harmonies and playful call and responses. Protoje isn’t messing with the fundamentals of the reggae sound but he is making them absolutely flourish in a contemporary live setting.

Donavon Frankenreiter is a Californian singer-songwriter who makes, or at least made, music very similar to Jack Johnson. Unsurprisingly really, given that he has been a close friend of fellow surfer Jack Johnson for yonks. His self-titled debut was perfect, beach campfire music – slow, hook-driven folk rock (one of the songs even featured Johnson). More recently, Frankenreiter has broadened his pallet with bluesy soft rock, reggae and world-laced America.
It probably won’t come as a shock to hear that when I first saw him live he was supporting none other than Jack Johnson. However, this was years and years ago, just as Frankenreiter had launched his musical career and before Johnson became a superstar. It was at a tiny, dingy club in Falmouth, Cornwall; Johnson had wanted to do a special gig in the surfing capital of the UK.
I owned and love Frankenreiter’s debut and was expecting low-key acoustic music. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find a ramped-up, full band show, with his minimal surf ballads turned into extended, bluesy jams. If I had to guess, I would say that his early live touring shaped the recorded albums that followed. Song like ‘Free’ and ‘It Don’t Matter’ sounded fuller live, with the singer-songwriter showcasing real skill on the guitar, which he played with a much flashier style. The chilled out entertainer was eventually welcomed back to join Jack Johnson for a couple of tracks during his later headline slot; by then, Donavon Frankenreiter didn’t need to win over the audience.