After days and days of rain and cold weather when around the same time last year we were getting much more sunshine, the general mood of people was not very "cheer-ie." We were beginning to wonder if there would actually be a noticeable summer this year. For people who never experienced a full summer in countries like UK, Holland and Germany for instance, summers here can be very very short and the sight of the sun is most times enough to turn every frown upside down.

Now fast-forward a bit and here we are, on the day of the 24th Edition of Summer Jam, and the sun beginning to show its head! Officially the summer now start with this three day music festival, which is undoubtedly one of the biggest and best in all of Europe. This year me and my Herbalize-it family got the golden call to spin in the infamous Southpole Dancehall tent. So we there once again with full access to the festival, ready to cause destruction and of-course represent for TJJ!

Friday! Day one of the musical magic and everything is everything. Glimpses of the sun giving the assurance that this weekend would be a good one. The traditional camping grounds are crazy full as usual with tents on top of tents, and like I so often already said, I got nuff respect for the people who could withstand this. One thing about the camping ground is the vibe is always good. People getting along with each other, tolerating behaviour that would most probably in another place and time result in somebody getting ah buss head. Here its a 24 hour non-stop love your brother man party and I say this without exaggeration! On the festival ground the energy and positive vibes was ever present and this year, even though some haters were complaining that the line-up was weak with too many old school artist, the turn out was still exceptional.

Photos By Sylvester & D-One
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Jerk chicken in one hand, cold beer in the other and life is for this instance in time just about perfect. All the performances on the day were received with appreciation but those that really stood out was the performance from the German artist Nosliw. Glen Washington, who once again proved why he is considered as one of the best voices in the reggae business did not fail to entertain the crowd and ooh the thousands of female onlookers. Horace Andy's performance was also top class and Freddie McGregor was nothing shorter than superb! The younger guys such as Chino and Laden represented hard for the Big Ship family, while Ward 21 brought there insane dancehall energy and blazed all the way through their performance. One of the last performances of the day was that of Anthony B. A fitting end to an incredible day. This performance was one of the best Summer Jam performances ever! A big statement I know, but we must give Jack his jacket. The man was infectious and very on point releasing hit after hit in a continuos flow which took the energy level higher and higher. In true Summerjam heritage, after the concerts, the masses pack themselves into the dancehall tent for what is probably the sickest reggae/dancehall party on the globe. This is where all hell breaks loose and sound systems reign supreme. On this night, my Herbalize-it crew, Soundquake and Deebuzz had the honour to be in that elite dj-line up responsible for inducing all the havoc that followed! The vibe which was borderline insanity had people screaming pull-up, jumping, waving, ranting and just about anything else their minds told them to do! Great music, amazing vibes, cute girls. Day one of Summerjam passed with flying colours!

Saturday! Day two and wow! Blazing sun, dust, sweat, girls wearing less clothing and the beers coming in much quicker succession than yesterday. So we very happy! It seemed as if it was just a continuation of the day before because nothing vibes-wise changed! Everything was still everything and Summerjam was doing what it does best; "Keeping The Good Vibes."

Tiken Jah Fakoly, was a name I never heard before. But one thing that's for sure is I'll never forget it! What an amazing show! So full of energy with great music, super artist and amazing singers. Definitely worth a check out people! Again, today there wasn't a single performance that didn't please the crowd. However, standing out above the rest were Junior Kelly, Bunny Wailer, Madcon, Alborosie, Buju Banton and Arrested Development. Memorable moments was Buju's Michael Jackson inspired performance and seeing the legendary Arrested Development for the first time. Priceless!

The Dancehall tent was insane on Friday night, but there aren't words to describe Saturday night and what went down! Sentinel, Pow Pow and one of my favorites sounds of all time, Stone Love killed the tent over and over again! Seeing is believing people. Plain and simple! And no, my limited capacity for expressing myself using the English language has nothing to do with it. Seriously, there aren't any words to describe this madness!

Sunday, the last day of the festival and the vibes have changed. Still good feelings and happy faces but the hyper-active energy was slowly fading away and being replaced by a calm, peaceful blanket of satisfaction, covering the whole festival. Things were winding down, time to start archiving those memories that would go into the Summerjam 2009 vault of the mind. For me the highlight of this day was UB40. Timeless music and they were scheduled to close the festival. But before this grand finale, Pablo Moses, Groundation, Sly and Robbie, U-Roy and the UK crooner Bitty McLean got the masses in the right mood. The sun going down and UB40 took to the stage. Picture perfect! Sweet music, nice weather, together with friends new and old! UB40 dropped nothing but classic hits, including "Rat In The Kitchen" and "Red Red Wine". A great performance by a fantastic band. And then it was time! Summerjam 2009 came to an end with a spectacular fireworks show unlike any I have seen in the past at this festival. What a pleasure it was to witness this!

Summerjam 2009 was the best I have ever been to. Vibes was so so nice. Performances were tight and very entertaining. From a personal standpoint it was wicked to be able to spin for the craziest massive ever and of-course getting to see UB40 live is something i would cherish. The buzz is already on for 2010, the 25th edition. This festival is worth it people! An experience that would stay with you for a really long time!

Nuff Love

D-One
Jammasters & Herbalize-it