FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- 7/6/08
Morgan Arts Council • Berkeley Springs, WV
Press Contact only: Mary Hott --304-258-2300
PHOTOS AVAILABLE

MAMA JAMA OPENS CONCERT SERIES WITH A SPLASH

BERKELEY SPRINGS, WV --- They may bill themselves as a reggae band but in Berkeley Springs, the world beat sounds of Mama Jama are Chesapeake Bay area beach music. The popular group opens the 22nd annual Summer Concerts in the Park series in the nationally recognized art town of Berkeley Springs on Saturday, July 12 at 5:30pm. The free concert is staged in Berkeley Springs State Park with the nearby Ice House as a rain location.

Playing as a band since 1990, stalwarts of the group are continually shuffling other players but the global mix remains constant with musicians hailing from a variety of Caribbean islands, African nations and the US. Mama Jama is revered for its improvisational polyrhythms as well as original music and lyrics. Their intoxicating blend of rock, reggae, calypso and blues comes from the traditions of both Africa and the United States.

The instruments used to create the beat are as varied as the countries of origin and include woodwinds, keyboard, bass guitar and a variety of percussion devices from congas to cymbals. Threaded through all the rhythm are soulful vocals.

"This year is a great line-up," said Gordon Macleod, organizer of the summer concert series. "We wanted to launch it with a high energy group and know from past visits that no band can beat Mama Jama for getting folks up to dance. The park will be rockin'," he predicts.

The MAC Summer Concerts in the Park are sponsored by Carl M. Freeman Foundation. Additional funding for the free concert is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, West Virginia Commission on the Arts and local hotel/motel tax revenues. For more information about the Morgan Arts Council and the calendar of upcoming concerts visit www.macicehouse.org or call 304-258-2300. To hear the music online, check www.mamajama.com.