Duane Forrest Songs of Bob Marley The Merlin Edinburgh Free Fringe 2022 Review
Duane Forrest singing the songs of Reggae superstar Bob Marley is one of the hidden gems at The Merlin in Morningside Road as part the Edinburgh Free Fringe. Duane is Canadian/Jamaican, and as you can tell from this show, his early years and exposure to the sounds of Reggae left a lasting impression on both his music and his life.
In this show, time is limited, but Duane still manages to give us an introduction into the history of Reggae as a dance and music form and to its cultural place in his family. The sounds, the moves, the language, and the cultural roots of reggae are interwoven into Jamaican society at a level that is at times hard for any outsider to truly grasp. Reggae is more than music here, it is a cultural identity to so many people from Jamaica.
This show opens with the instantly recognisable “Jammin’” and along the way, in a typically Jamaican laid back style and with that unmistakable reggae backbeat on guitar, Duane gives us some of his own family history and a little bit of Bob Marley’s life story as we are introduced to other classic songs including “One Love”, “Three Little Birds” and the unforgettable “No Woman No Cry”.
If you want to hear more music from Duane Forrest, there is still chance to catch up with his own life story in music with his show “Climb” at Bristo Square, part of Underbelly at the Fringe this year. As with this show, that gentle style of songs and story telling that Duane manages so effortlessly, endears him to his audiences from the first few moments that he steps onto the stage to perform.
Review by Tom King © 2022
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
In this show, time is limited, but Duane still manages to give us an introduction into the history of Reggae as a dance and music form and to its cultural place in his family. The sounds, the moves, the language, and the cultural roots of reggae are interwoven into Jamaican society at a level that is at times hard for any outsider to truly grasp. Reggae is more than music here, it is a cultural identity to so many people from Jamaica.
This show opens with the instantly recognisable “Jammin’” and along the way, in a typically Jamaican laid back style and with that unmistakable reggae backbeat on guitar, Duane gives us some of his own family history and a little bit of Bob Marley’s life story as we are introduced to other classic songs including “One Love”, “Three Little Birds” and the unforgettable “No Woman No Cry”.
If you want to hear more music from Duane Forrest, there is still chance to catch up with his own life story in music with his show “Climb” at Bristo Square, part of Underbelly at the Fringe this year. As with this show, that gentle style of songs and story telling that Duane manages so effortlessly, endears him to his audiences from the first few moments that he steps onto the stage to perform.
Review by Tom King © 2022
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com