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Volume No. 1 Issue No. 79 - Friday March 24, 2006 |
Dominica Reggae Star Nasio Fontaine performs in Africa
 Melissa Bardfield
Dominica�s reggae star Nasio Fontaine and his band travelled to Sierra Leone to perform two stadium shows in the West African country�s capital city of Freetown on April 7 and 8th.
From the moment Nasio set foot on African soil he was overwhelmed by his fans. Near riot broke out on the streets surrounding a press conference and 300 military and security personnel were hired to bring Nasio in and out of the stadium each night. His fans just wanted to get close enough to see or touch the reggae star.
 Despite the strong military and security presence, each evening when Nasio performed Armed and Dangerous, the gates came crashing down as fans rushed to get closer to the stage.
Nasio was truly in his element performing crowd favourites- Africa We Love, Truth will Reveal, Where We Belong, and Wanna Go Home to 25,000 fans who knew every single word. Nasio also performed songs off his forthcoming album, Universal Cry.
Nasio�s popularity in Sierra Leone can be attributed to many things, but many say that his music gives hope to the country recovering from civil war, corruption and oppression.
During the show, Nasio called onto the stage a number of amputees, victims of military brutality during the past civil war. He also asked the crowd to hold hands as they prayed together for peace. Many were brought to tears.
It is estimated that Nasio has sold over 40,000 cds and cassettes in Sierra Leone, a country with a population of 4 million. However, his music was sold entirely by pirates- illegal bootleggers. Thus, Nasio has not seen the fruits of his enormous success. A spiritual man, he believes he is doing �Jah work� and is satisfied that his message of unity is spread in Africa.
Nasio�s band consists of four Dominican brothers- Cedric Henderson on guitar, Clyde Henderson on drums, Kelvin Henderson on bass and Neville Henderson on keyboards, longtime band member, Miss Emi Yabuno on keyboards and two background vocalists. He was also joined by top Jamaican sound engineer Robert Stewart.
For more info contact: Melissa Bardfield, Zest Group, PLC;
[email protected] Tel: +44 (0) 779 522 5577
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