Madison, Wisconsin – Madison, Wisconsin is not known for having a massive reggae market, but for the past 30 years the homegrown Natty Nation band has carried the music’s banner in that city. On June 21, they celebrated the milestone with a show there at Atwood Music Hall.
Jah Boogie, founding member, bass guitarist and lead vocalist of Natty Nation, told South Florida Caribbean News that he and his colleagues have accomplished a lot since forming in 1995.
“I guess the goal was to play good, real, classic reggae music with our own authentic American flair, since we are not Jamaican, though we did have Jeffery “J-Maxx” Maxwell from Falmouth (Trelawny parish) in the band from 1995 until he sadly transitioned on October 24, 2001,” said Jah Boogie. “We’ve always set out to be a rock band that plays reggae, but to do it with respect to the roots, while also adding our own influences.”
Paule Willis on drums and percussion, guitarist Nick Czar and Aaron Konkol on keyboards and melodica are the other core members of Natty Nation which has released five studio albums and a live set. Divine Spark, their previous album, came out in 2016.
The Midwest, which has a vibrant reggae scene, is the quartet’s biggest market, especially Madison and Milwaukee in their home state, and Iowa City.
These are good times for American reggae, particularly in California which has produced popular bands like Rebelution and Stick Figure, who have made the Billboard charts.
Unlike their compatriots who experiment with pop sounds to reach a mainstream audience, Jah Boogie says Natty Nation stays true to messages that have made the music a global force.
“We choose to sing about decidedly non-mainstream topics, so we do not expect mainstream success. Like on our next single, Race Soldier, which we wrote after the murder of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Sandra Bland and Breonna Taylor, we very explicitly sing about police brutality and how it’s terrifying out in these streets,” he stated. “It’s not like we even expect to be mainstream popular, but I guess I just want Jamaicans to know that there’s a lot more going on than those really popular American bands that play reggae-influenced music.”
