JUST PLAIN FOLKS AWARDS 2009

What started as an informal way to recognize the best member submissions has grown into the largest Music Awards program in the world! JPF screens more than 350,000 songs and over 25,000 albums in 70+ genres from 100 Countries to honor the very best works of its members. Volunteer judges include industry professionals, peers and music fans. The sole criteria for judging is "Does it move you?" JPF Founder Brian Austin Whitney felt the music made by the "other 98%" of the music world, often ignored by the mainstream televised music awards shows, deserved its own recognition. Previous winners and nominees have included famous Grammy, Oscar, Emmy and Tony winners — even some Rock and Roll Hall of Famers.

Taj Weekes and Adowa received the following nominations:

• Best Reggae Album - Deidem
• Best Reggae Song - Angry Language
• Best Reggae Song - Little Fire

The 2009 JPF Awards will take place in "music city" itself - Nashville, Tennessee - on August 29, 2009. Award Sponsors include CD Baby, Disc Makers, Our Stage and Taxi, the world's leading independent A&R vehicle.

OLD TOWN SCHOOL OF FOLK MUSIC

Taj Weekes and Adowa, July 22, 8:30 PM

Taj Weekes is a superb roots reggae artist from the small Caribbean island of St. Lucia who formed his group Adowa in New York City and has since released two critically acclaimed albums; Hope and Doubt and Deidem. Weekes sings assuredly and soulfully for the voiceless and the oppressed and has become a true cultural ambassador for the Caribbean. A poet and humanitarian steeped in Rastafari, Taj Weekes is a positive force whose nonprofit, They Often Cry Outreach (TOCO) has gained international attention for its work with disadvantaged children.

The Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago
(773) 728-6000 or visit www.oldtownschool.org

WORLD MUSIC CENTRAL

Old Town School of Folk Music Announces World Music Wednesdays Schedule for Summer 2009

Excerpt - World Music Wednesdays replaces the previous format of Old Town School of Folk Music's Peña, Afrofolk, and World Music Series by presenting music of all of these genres in each three-month series. The series will run all year round. This series will present music, dance and culture of Africa, Europe, Asia, The Middle East and The Americas.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009, 8:30pm - 10:30pm

Taj Weekes and Adowa (St. Lucia)

Taj Weekes is a superb roots reggae artist from the small Caribbean island of St. Lucia who formed his group Adowa in New York City and has since released two critically acclaimed albums; Hope and Doubt and Deidem. Weekes sings assuredly and soulfully for the voiceless and the oppressed and has become a true cultural ambassador for the Caribbean. A poet and humanitarian steeped in Rastafari, Taj Weekes is a positive force whose nonprofit, They Often Cry Outreach (TOCO) has gained international attention for its work with disadvantaged children.

The Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln Avenue, Chicago
(773) 728-6000 or visit www.oldtownschool.org

Check out TajandAdowa.com Gallery.

Check out TajWeekes.com Gallery.

BATTLE CREEK ENQUIRER

Excerpt of article by: Lori Holcomb

This weekend, the islands are closer than you think

Cool breezes, spirited drinks and easy-going rhythms - welcome to the islands, mon.

So, it's not exactly the Caribbean, but for those who can't afford the plane ticket, this weekend's Kalamazoo Island Fest is the next best thing.

The 14th annual festival, which starts today and runs through Saturday at Arcadia Creek Festival Place, has become the largest celebration of Caribbean culture in Michigan, according to festival director Wayne Deering of the Kalamazoo-based events planning company Events Inc.

"From the food to the drinks and the music, everything about the islands spells fun," Deering said. He estimated that about 20,000 people attended last year's two-day festival, which is why he decided to extend the event to three days this year.

This year's musical lineup will feature 14 acts, including Culture, Zareb, Taj Weeks and Adowa - all of which hail from the Caribbean, as well as Pato Banton, Dread 1 Sound System and the local band, Zion Lion.

"I call it the happiest weekend in Kalamazoo," he said. "... It's just the vibe of the festival. Everyone dances and smiles and has a good time."

KALAMAZOO GAZETTE

Excerpt of article by: John Liberty

Despite the forecast, 'it always shines' for Island Festival

Paul Toth, an organizer of the 14th annual Island Festival along with Wayne Deering, doesn't really care what meteorologists have to say about this weekend's weather. "It always shines for the Island Festival," Toth said.

Island Festival celebrates Caribbean culture through food, clothing, jewelry, live music, drinks and more. It will start at 11 a.m. Thursday and continue through Saturday at the Arcadia Creek Festival Place.

The annual event has drawn about 5,000 people daily on Fridays and Saturdays in recent years, prompting organizers to add a third day this year. "Given the popularity of the festival, it was a natural outgrowth," Toth said.

Here are some of the festival highlights:

• British reggae artist Pato Banton will perform, 10 to 11:30 p.m. Friday.

• St. Lucia-born reggae artist Taj Weekes and his band Adowa will perform, 8 to 9:30 p.m. Saturday.

KALAMAZOO GAZETTE

Interview by: Mark Wedel

KALAMAZOO - Taj Weekes and Adowa will bring roots reggae to Island Festival Saturday night.

Roots is the classic sound that leads one to think of Caribbean beaches, sun, ganja -- a sound that might lead to an escapist mindset. But roots is also a conscious music, with serious messages about the world, Weekes said during a phone interview from his U.S. base in Brooklyn, N.Y.

In his video for "Hollow Display," Weekes is on his home island of St. Lucia, surrounded by beautiful scenery and women, yet his voice is melancholy. It's his one male/female relationship song -- but obviously other things are on his mind. Other songs on his 2008 CD, "Deidem," are about war, propaganda, orphans and tribulations from Hurricane Katrina-damaged Louisiana to Darfur.

Weekes will want his audience to dance and have a good time. He knows some will be there to party, not to listen to the messages in his songs. "There will always be party people. But if I can get at least a couple people to listen to the words I sing... You only need a couple people to change," he said. "Peter Tosh once said, 'You gotta draw them in with the rhythm first.' And as they're dancing, they listen. That's what we're trying to do."

He doesn't try to be a messenger, that's just how he is, Weekes said. "Where I grew up, how I grew up, the people around me," all influenced him.

He learned to write songs and sing calypso and reggae, and learned the Rastafari way of life on the island, but he eventually had to leave the tiny nation. "Mentally, I would be on 238 square miles. What I wanted to achieve musically, I could not have done it on the confines of that square footage."

He moved to the New York area (it's not his home, he said. "Home is in my head. I don't care too much for material things"), where for the past decade his band Adowa had bucked the trend of hip-hop-influenced reggae about women's rear ends and material things. Reggae is swinging back to the attitude of Bob Marley and Tosh, Weekes thinks.

"It's a generational thing. We (the reggae world) had been in riddim stuff. But now we're back to listening," he said. "I don't think we'll achieve anything with any other kind of music... I think it's time again for roots music."

Weekes does more than just sing about troubles. He is in charge of his nonprofit, They Often Cry Outreach -- www.theyoftencryoutreach.org.

TOCO works on improving the lives of children around the world. In early June, Weekes was in St. Lucia, delivering soccer equipment to youths there and planning a diabetes education project -- the island has one of the highest rates of the disease in the world, Weekes said. He is also recording "Waterlogged Soul Kitchen," with songs based on Katrina. TOCO will sell the album this year with proceeds going to children's programs in New Orleans.

There are troubles all over the world, "and we're the town criers, the musicians. I'm trying to keep up the town-crier tradition, pointing out the crisis, whether it is Louisiana or Darfur," Weekes said.

LETTER FROM HERE

Blog by: Madison Guy

Taj Weekes and Adowa performed Saturday afternoon at the Marquette Neighborhood Association Waterfront Festival, which continues Sunday at Yahara Place Park, "at the confluence of the Yahara River and Lake Monona."

MUNDO DA MUSICA - ZONA REGGAE - Portugal

"For Today" from Taj Weekes and Adowa's album DEIDEM has climbed the charts to Number 3 on Portugal's Top 30 Reggae Chart according to Mundo da Musica!

Top 5 are shown below:

01 - John Brown’s Body – Be at Peace – Amplify 2008 Easy Star Records

02 - Groundation feat. Apple Gabriel & Don Carlos – Feel Jah – We Free Again 2004 Young Tree Records

03 - Taj Weekes & Adowa – For Today – Deidem 2008 Jatta Records

04 - Formulla – End of the Show – promo mp3 from “Meaningful Muzic” 2008 

05 - Richie Spice – Street Life – single mp3 promo 2009 Backyard Ent.

Taj Weekes presents the new TajWeekes.com website focusing on his work as a songwriter and poet as well as his humanitarian work through his children's charity, They Often Cry Outreach (TOCO). Check it out at www.TajWeekes.com or by clicking on the image above.

Check out the new Taj Weekes and Adowa merchandise on Spreadshirt. New designs include an A Waterlogged Soul Kitchen image taken from Taj Weekes & Adowa's upcoming album release by the same name (shown above left) and a Taj Weekes Block Print image (shown above right). Be sure to check out prior designs including Classic Deidem featuring the album logo, Since Cain featuring an excerpt of the song lyrics and a cool yellow and blue graphic design and Taj Weekes Sepia Signature, featuring a sepia image of Taj Weekes performing on stage.

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