Wow! This summer has gotten off to a sensational start! First there was the outstanding Barmuvinjam website launch party, then there was the widely acclaimed Culture Shock, now this! Saturday night is the new carnival people. But let?s discuss the event shall we?

I arrived on the scene after the local acts had already started warming up the crowd. I missed the Homegrown Band?s set, which, by all accounts, was spectacular, and I missed Sweet Sess, who is always excellent. I did, however, catch the end of Twanee Butterfield?s set. In fact, I walked in to the sounds of the petit diva wrapping her powerful vocals around the Rihanna hit ?Faithful.? She was sharp as always, and quite ably backed by the Homegrown Band; as were Ras Giorgis and Fires of Africa.

Giorgis delivered a classy set; full of originals and covers, with Bob Marley?s ?Time Will Tell? and his own ?Faith? catching my fancy. Fires of Africa were also fabulous, delivering another virtuoso set, and working the 2000-plus crowd into an Ital frenzy. Their magnificent ?Here Today, Gone Tomorrow? closed the local portion of the show, and with the recent rash of untimely deaths on the eastern end of the island, a more poignant piece would?ve never been found. Rest in peace guys, you will be missed.

Sissy was the hostess with the mostess on Saturday night, and she kept the vibes flowing with style and flair. She came on at around 12.20 a.m. to introduce the mighty Souljah One sound system, who played all the classic Reggae music hits we all grew up loving. I mean, they pulled out the likes of Max Romeo and the Upsetters, Jacob Miller, Dennis Brown, John Holt, Bob Marley, and many, many others. Souljah One played for the better part of an hour, and the vibes were decidedly Irie by the time Morgan Heritage was ready to take the stage.

The Morgan siblings did explode into our consciousness at sometime around 1.20 a.m. Atlantic Standard Time, and they would proceed to imprint moments on our collective psyche that are sure to last a lifetime! The majestic ?Don?t Haffi Dread? opened the marathon set, and the crowd was immediately taken by the greatest Reggae group since the likes of Black Uhuru and Steel Pulse dominated the international charts.

Peter fronted the group like a prophet addressing legions of his faithful followers. He struck a powerful figure on stage, with his slash of grey hair evoking memories of Mutabaruka reasoning with the masses at PHC Stadium just weeks prior to the historic 1998 election (this, of course, was before that particular landmark became a gas station). This was a night like all those nights that live in our memories, and eight years from now, I will write about the first time Morgan Heritage came to Bermuda like it was an event to define an era. It was.

The band played through the fantastic ?Live Up,? the sublime ?Liberation Chant,? the brilliant ?Man Is Still A Man,? and the heartical ?Haile Selassie I? with unbridled grace and style to spare. The massive crowd absolutely absorbed every second that Delroy Morgan?s sons delivered their considerable catalogue of neo-classic Reggae gems. The crowd was so enthralled by these men, that when Peter and Gramps decided to lower the music and just talk to them at about 2.00 a.m., they listened attentively to every word, responding appropriately and showering the group with adoration throughout.

Then we were rewarded with a stirring rendition of the glorious ?Psalm 23.? Gramps laid down the big baritone with silky smooth precision, and the masses swayed quietly, captivated by the gravity of the message being delivered. This portion of the show was intimate and poignant in a way that groundings should be, and considering the heights that we?d all been to, groundings were certainly appropriate.

The heights, however, were not yet done. ?When I Come Home? followed the quiet time, and when ?Down By The River? dropped, the crowd went wild! The response was massive, and the brothers took this opportunity to clear the stage, returning a few minutes later to dazzle us again with a number of sensational encores.

The first encore was the bouncy ?Bring Back Love,? then there was the absolutely enormous ?Best Friend?; a song that many of the ladies in the crowd had been waiting for all night long. The group professed their undying love for Bermuda and vowed to return every year to perform; a promise that drew a huge gasp from the now thoroughly smitten crowd.

The last twenty minutes saw a beautiful rendition of Jah Cure?s superb ?Longing For,? a magical rendition of ?She?s Still Loving Me? (during which the group?s keyboardist, the gorgeous Sister Shanda, was called upon to deliver a wonderful keyboard solo and a simply stunning singing display. Wow!), and a close-the-curtain-turn-the-lights-out performance of the international mega-hit ?Tell Me How Come.? The crowd was extremely enamored with this group of Reggae ambassadors at this point, and when Peter substituted Bermuda for Jamaica in the famous opening refrain of the song, even I got chills.

This was an astonishingly well constructed show. When all was said and done, the headliners had delivered a two-hour set, and not a single attendee left the House of Menelik without a smile on their face that night. I was able to talk to Eugene Dean of Spanish Town and Startime Productions before the proceedings ended on Saturday night, and I am not ashamed to say that I was full of congratulations and various other accolades.

The One Love Concert Series is an unbridled success, and the work that these promoters do should not go unmentioned. They have manufactured a formula for success and should be congratulated, appreciated and celebrated. Well done guys, now please make sure Morgan Heritage has a venue when they return next year!