Stones Throw Bar, Kingston

The music was LOUD or turned all the way up, Stones Throw Bar had quickly become one of my favourite event spaces because of the intimacy of the space. The stage was small and perfect for an acoustic performance. The main seating area is a big thatched roof gazebo; with decorative “Christmas lights” or pepper lights as we call them, attached to the roof, hanging right above the stage.

Bae Vibes was the event; it is a seasonal event that seeks to bring people together, and what better way to do that than with music. “Bae Vibes” translated from Patois or Jamaican Creole is “a massive amount of vibes”. As a Jamaican, when I saw the Bae Vibes flyer, it enticed me, ’cause anywhere there’s good energy that’s where I’d like to be. This event is a fete where music takes control, the Deejays play from a variety of genres, encouraging mingling and dancing between the patrons. This was my first time at Bae Vibes, and this season was different because it includes live performances.

Dj Stamma played first, warming up the crowd with a mix of genres, starting the session with some old school R&B, “No Scrubs” for example, a bop! He went to current R&B, and Hip-Hop to Dancehall and made it all come together beautifully. This Bae Vibes had free activities for the ladies or Baes. Henna Tattoos from Mark (@HennaThreads), Caricature drawings from Djet (@DjetLayne_Carics), and Jell-O Shots. I had to partake in all of this!

Fun Fact: Mark makes his own henna paste, he adds tea tree oil and lavender to it; it smelt so good to me. The instructions for the henna are to allow the paste to dry for 6 hours, then remove the paste but keep the area dry for 24 hours.

Since I went alone, if I wasn’t jamming to the music, I’d be people watching; listen, I was taking notes. There were short shorts or “batty riders” with loose fitting tops, Bongo pants (or joggers) and Kimonos in an array of prints.  From the Afrocentric crop tops to the Chokers necklaces, and Big wooden hoop earrings, I was enthralled by the styles. First on stage was the Bae, Jane MacGizmo.

It was my first time seeing Jane McGizmo perform live, I like her energy, she spoke to us and introduced herself, she seemed like a very down to earth person. She sang an unreleased song, “King”, a sultry song about pleasing her king. Next up was “Babylon” the first single she released, and a crowd favourite.

“Free from Babylon, come mek we shut it dung!”

Her band held known faces, Jason Worton-Lee on guitar, iOtosh on bass, and Teflon engineering the instrumentals. Next she sang “Who I Am”, she wrote this track in studio for a TV series, it gave me a disco feel. Her final song was her most recent release, “Too Late” another crowd fave, she was very soulful in singing this one, it made me feel like I’d lost my lover too.

Royal Blu came with a vibe to make some ladies fall in love with him, I’m sure of it. El Fuego Don went into “Blue Mahoe”, my favourite song off his just released EP; in this song he’s singing about the earth and protecting it. Next was “The Motions” you could hear the different ranges in his voice clearly in this song, I  enjoyed it. Then he went back to the EP by singing the title track, “sinG with God” featuring Runkus; these two artistes are a power duo, and it shows whenever they combine, the energy was on a different level when they performed this song. The closing song of the set was “Meanwhile” featuring Leno Banton, this continued on the high energy of the last song, gaining participation of the crowd. We were the chorus at the appropriate times; we turned singers crooning out the “meanwhiles”.

Fatalic Sound then took over the Deejaying, they went full force with the Dancehall, picking up where the high energy of Royal Blu’s performance had left off. The dancers rolled out in the largest space of the venue, and other patrons like myself, danced and enjoyed ourselves where we stood. It was a good night.

Bae Vibes will be every Monday for the month of December, so come on out, and have a good time.

Follow!

Jane MacGizmo on
Twitter & Instagram: @JaneMacGizmo

Royal Blu on
Twitter & Instagram: @TheRoyalBlu

Bae Vibes for updates
Twitter & Instagram: @BaeVibesJa