Double dose of roots-rock reggae

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Reggae veteran Freddie McGregor makes his Hawai'i debut headlining at Volcanoes Nightclub tonight. Freddie McGregor with Ooklah the Moc and Red Degree 9 p.m. today Volcanoes $20 ($40 V.I.P.) advance, $30 ($60 V.I.P.) door (877) 750-4400

Kaua'i duo The Lambsbread — Matthew "Kaya" Rathje and Nadia Rathje — will perform at Saturday's Reggae at the Tower. Reggae at the Tower with Natural Vibrations, T.H.C., The Lambsbread, 4word, Thick Tubes, Melodious Solutions 7 p.m. Saturday Kapono's $12 advance, $18 door 536-2100, 678-3010

Tonight at Volcanoes, multi-dimensional reggae veteran Freddie McGregor turns in his debut Hawai'i performance (with local players Ooklah the Moc and Red Degree). Down the highway at Kapono's, Saturday's "Reggae at the Tower" roots reggae fest gathers Melodious Solutions, Thick Tubes, 4word, The Lambsbread, T.H.C. and Natural Vibrations pierside.

What Freddie McGregor might lack in immediate name recognition, he makes up for in durability. As a member of ska harmony duo The Clarendonians in 1963, then 7-year-old McGregor snared a deal with Studio One, the legendary Jamaican label that launched The Wailers.

Flirtations with other Jamaican groups, session work and a solo career met mostly with indifference until McGregor converted to Rastafarianism in 1975. The change in McGregor's spiritual life naturally permeated his music, and a string of soul-tinged roots hit singles followed.

McGregor's best-known composition remains the buoyant 1981 hit "Big Ship," which finally extended his audience internationally. He's since kept his music relevant by effortlessly hooking up his soul-filled vox to trends in dub, dancehall and, more recently, smooth-grooved lovers rock.

McGregor received his first Grammy nomination for Best Reggae Album in 2002 for the rootsy lover-man-infused CD "Anything For You."

Meanwhile, the most musically striking act on the "Reggae at the Tower" program may be Kaua'i-based husband-wife roots duo The Lambsbread. With strong call-and-response vocals by Matthew "Kaya" and Nadia Rathje, The Lambsbread's 2003 CD "Sing Praise" offers a bouncy, sweetly pleasing mystical ride.

Reach Derek Paiva at dpaiva@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8005.