Saturday June 9

Saturday at Caribana Festival was dedicated to all sorts of music, from traditional Irish folk to stadium pop-rock, passing through reggae and hip-hop. There was something for every taste!

6:30pm-7:30pm, Scène du Lac

Saint City Orchestra

Saint City Orchestra, a traditional Irish folk-rock band from St Gallen, recreates on stage an Irish pub with wooden cases and beers. Through their music they take the audience directly into a typical Dublin pub, with the smell of beer in the air and the violin and accordion playing happily.

They play a few covers of Flogging Molly such as “Drunken Lullabies” and also Dropkick Murphys’ “I’m Shipping up to Boston”. They also have a few songs of their own such as “Knights & Thieves” characterized by the typical Irish-folk melodies with the violin, guitars and accordion intertwined with a constant drumbeat in the background.

During the concert they ask the audience to do the wall of death and a mosh pit circle, it’s great fun! They even invite some people on stage to drink beer at their Irish bar, creating a cheerful atmosphere!

7:30pm-8:30pm, Grande scène

Protoje & The Indiggnation

Protoje & The Indiggnation spreads the message of peace and love. The reggae music of this Jamaican band is colourful and thoughtful.

Some beautiful instrumental bits such as watery guitar riffs break the repetitive reggae rhythms. The audience is chill and swings from the right to the left in the slower songs. Some other songs are livelier and make you dance like the two vocalists on stage moving dynamically.

7:30pm-8:30pm, Grande scène

Oscar and the Wolf

Oscar and the Wolf is the stage name of Belgian artist Max Colombie. On stage three musicians accompany him. He has definitely a very original style both in his presence than his music. His songs are somewhere in between dreamy electro pop and a darker twist.

His ethereal voice leads the way into a world patterned by constant electronic sounds diversified by guitar and piano coming in. On stage, Oscar and the Wolf is constantly moving his body, dancing, pirouetting and such. The audience jumps to the beats with the arms in the air all along the livelier songs.

10:45pm-11:45pm, Scène du Lac

Danitsa

Danitsa is a Swiss/French artist with Jamaican origins, but instead of reggae she chose hip-hop as her medium of expression, although reggae influence can be heard in her music. Her soul voice fits perfectly to the rap and hip-hop music.

An highlight is her song “Captain” which she plays live at Caribana saying that she decided to be the captain of her own life. On stage she’s supported by her brother Mr. Pops and by some musicians. Check out her debut album Ego, which was released in November 2017.

11:50pm-1:15am, Grande Scène

The Script

Irish rock band The Script has the task of closing Caribana Festival and it does it amazingly! The arrival on stage of the band is preceded by a video where different people are testifying about human rights. As soon as lead guitarist Mark Sheehan, drummer Glen Power and singer Danny O’Donoghue enter the stage you can hear mostly girls scream. Two additional touring members also accompany the band on keyboard and bass guitar. The Script kicks off the gig with “Superheroes” one of their most well known songs, which with its pop-rock twist reminds at times Coldplay’s “Paradise”.

A start on a high, that draws the public immediately into the live energy of The Script. During “Paint the Town Green”, the third song they play, an explosion of green confetti invades the sky over the audience of Caribana Festival followed by screams of excitement. The band then performs the song that made them known to the public, “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved”, taken from their debut album The Script (2008). The singer starts a cappella with the audience singing along with him, the instruments come gently in after.

Danny O’Donoghue, great with the audience, is visibly happy and moved about the audience’s reaction and participation and claims that this feels like a hometown show despite their being far from Dublin.

For “The Energy Never Dies” the singer jumps off the stage and asks the audience to make space for him to walk through. He joins the parterre and sings among the fans giving him a high-five, offering him beer and constantly trying to take selfies with him. He joins the VIP balcony in the back, keeping on singing and then goes through the audience once again to join the stage. Needless to say that the public gets absolutely crazy and that this act means a lot.

The Script asks the audience to sing and clap along many times. For “Hall of Fame”, the singer tells the audience to switch on the flashlight on their phones and wave them in the air to create a starry sky, a beautiful result. The last song is the touching “Breakeven” to which the audience sings along. Danny O’Donoghue’s beautiful voice reaches the best of his highest note.

The singer ends the concert by underlining that all that matters for The Script is music and not fame or the money. A message that gives hope!

 

A perfect ending for the 2018 of Caribana Festival, leaving the audience excited and thrilled for next year’s edition! Merci Caribana!

Simona @TakeMe2aConcert