by Howard Campbell
JAPAN – Following an headline appearance on Okumo Beach Fest in Okinawa, Japan, Wayne Wonder is scheduled to return to that country in July for a series of shows.
Okumo Beach Fest was held April 20-21 in Okinawa at the United States Army base and also featured several homegrown rock bands. Wayne Wonder, known for songs such as No Letting Go, Saddest Day of My Life and Joyride, previously performed on the US Army base in South Korea and relishes the military support.
“Once you are advertised the people look forward to seeing you and they appreciate the music,” he said.
In July, the singer will perform once again in Okinawa, one of three cities in Japan with US Army bases. He will also play Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Hiroshima, Chiba and Fukuoka.
Wonder first performed in Japan in 1991 on JapanSplash which had Dennis Brown as headliner. At the time, roots-reggae was still the sound of choice there in terms of Jamaican music, but dancehall was making steady inroads through the popularity of acts like Shabba Ranks.
Although he has been to Japan several times since then, Wayne Wonder considers his debut 33 years ago special because of a gesture by JapanSplash’s star attraction.
“As a young, upcoming artist, Dennis Brown call mi up back on stage. Actually, he called up everybody who was on di tour, but as a young artist, an’ to know dat Dennis Brown call mi up on stage, dat was a great experience,” he said.
