Reggae Sunday: Etana at Surfside Salisbury Beach

Reggae Queen
Reggae Sunday at SurfSide
w/ JSN
+ DJ Host Green Lion Crew
Sunday, July 29 | 5PM

Doors  5PM  |  Reggae DJ  5PM  |  Live Bands 6PM

General Admission/Standing Room Only - $15
Day of Show - $20 CASH only at the door

This event is for 21+ ONLY after 6PM
RAIN OR SHINE - No Refunds
Reggae Sunday takes place on SurfSide Deck

Etana

Etana’s name means “The Strong One” in Swahili, and it’s a title she more than lives up to with her music and presence. Since debuting in 2006 with the thought provoking single “Wrong Address,” the Jamaican-born singer has established herself as one of the most powerful and distinctive voices in reggae, blazing a new trail in a genre that has long been male-dominated.

Etana’s story begins in August Town, a treacherous but culturally rich garrison community in eastern Kingston that has produced such musical talents as Sizzla and Israel Vibration. Growing up,  Etana’s home was filled with music, but it was country and western that she recalls leaving the biggest impression. “Every Sunday was country music day,” saysEtana.  “A lot of people in Jamaica play gospel music on a Sunday, or old rub-a-dub. In my house it was country, like Dolly Parton. Tammy Wynette was my favorite of all the artists my mom used to play.” Etana discovered her talent at the age of 6 while singing at home in the backyard for her aunt. Her charming voice beaconed an huge audience of neighbors who gathered to here “little Shauna” sing.  Etana’s backyard singing led to microphones of local sound systems playing in the neighborhood and thats where he love of music began.

Etana’s family relocated to South Florida when she was nine where she started middle and sang on the school choir, she was chosen to sing the “Star Spangle banner” at school functions but never thought much of having a career in music at that time.  Etana began her music career, almost by accident, while studying nursing at a local community college. “I had no interest in being an artist,”  Etana declares. “I was just bored and a friend of mine told me that there was a request for a black female to join a girl group in Miami. He brought me to the audition, and that was it.”

It wasn’t long before the proud and independent-minded singer realized that being in a prefabricated group wasn’t for her. Objecting to the group’s presentation during a music video shoot involving skimpy clothes and invasive camera angles, she quit on the spot. It was at this time that she decided to return home to Jamaica with plans of opening an Internet cafe. However, music would find her there as well, when she was recommended by a friend to fill in as a backup singer for reggae star Richie Spice.

VP Records, recognizedEtana’s talents.  In 2008, the label released her debut LP, The Strong One. The album, which combinedEtana’s reggae sound with aspects of R&B and world music, was embraced by fans as well as the music industry, landing the singer a nomination in the “best reggae” category at the MOBO Awards in England.

After several years touring around the world,  Etana returned in 2011 with her second album Free Expressions. The set included the hit “People Talk,” which detailed Etana’s own experiences facing skepticism as a woman in the music industry, as well as favorites like “Free,” an emotional tear-jerker written from Etana’s personal experience of the violent, horrific nature of her community, having to endure days of no sleep unable to go home because of a turf war and fears of being killed in the cross fire. “August Town” a track written in hopes of reuniting her community and “Heart Broken.” The latter song topped Natty B ' s chart in the UK for three consecutive weeks. 2011 also sawEtana return to her country roots with a cover of Patsy Cline’s “Crazy” on the VP Records compilation Reggae Gone Country. Her rendition of Cline’s country classic was praised as one of the standout tracks on an LP that featured such reggae luminaries as Beres Hammond and Luciano.

Etana continues her forward movement becoming the first female to achieve a Reggae Billboard #1 in seventeen years with I Rise, album produced by Jamaican luminary Clive Hunt (Peter Tosh, Rolling Stones, The Wailers, Chaka Khan, Grace Jones, Jimmy Cliff). The album reflects the singer’s ongoing maturity while maintaining the R&B-inflected take on reggae that she’s come to be known for, showcasing the diversity of a true musical Renaissance woman.

Inspiring others is nothing new for Etana. From the outset of her career with “Wrong Address”—a track which led many to re-evaluate how they look at others from different socio-economic backgrounds—she has been instigating change. Four albums into her career,  Etana has become a role model in Jamaica with her message and action.  Etana has used her success in music to create a charity organization in Jamaica “Strong One Foundation” where she helps teenage mother’s and girls who's been abused to receive counseling, regain strength and financial support to continue their education.  Etana has also continued touring since the release of her I Rise album and is currently in studio recording her fifth studio album.