Timbre’s Rock and Roots – 4 awesome reasons to go

PUBLISHED March 6th, 2013 01:21 am | UPDATED January 21st, 2016 07:47 am

As resident ‘rock’ music buff at City Nomads, I was super excited to see this year’s line-up for Rock and Roots Festival on 21st – 22nd March. Last year’s festival was excellent and it seems the thirst for music festivals is set to get stronger on our sunny isle, with every year getting bigger and better…Rock and Roots is a prime example of that.

For those readers into a bit of 60s and 70s rock, there is absolutely no need to give the question “should I go to Rock and Roots?” another thought.

But for everyone else, here is our list of four reasons to go to Rock and Roots.. aka, the top four acts to see:

Thursday 21st March

1. Robert Plant!

Heard of Led Zeppelin? I thought so. Well if you haven’t, go to ITunes, YouTube, a CD shop, wherever! and listen to their music right now. For 14 years it was Robert Plant who fronted the band as lead singer…. Stairway to Heaven, Black Dog, Immigrant Song, Whole Lotta Love… yep, that’s Robert Plant singing there. In 2011, readers of Rolling Stone magazine placed him 1st for the title of ‘best lead singers of all time’.

Now granted, this isn’t the 70s anymore and Robert Plant is not exactly a young man these days.. BUT, if you do check out some of his more recent performances, this 65 year old can still rock…and rock hard! See this nifty video I found below to see exactly what I mean:

To put it simply, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity to see one of the greatest rock legends who ever was and will ever be.

2. Tedeschi Trucks Band

Yes, the ‘Trucks’ part is the Derek Trucks, the legendary slide guitar player. The Tedeschi part is Susan Tedeschi, his wife and co-performer. These guys have been winning awards left right and centre, but frankly I don’t care about that. Just listen to their performance of ‘Midnight in Harlem’.. It’s just beautiful.

Ahh the smooth guitar rifts from Trucks with Tedeschi’s soulful voice carrying perfectly over the wind. This is the kind of music that makes me want to lie on the grass somewhere smiling to myself. There’s just something so uplifting about it. I hope you feel the same…

Having said that, if Trucks does decide to randomly start sliding like a madman, I ain’t exactly gonna complain!

Friday 22nd March

3. Jimmy Cliff

If you are into reggae, or you think you are into reggae, then you should already be familiar with Jimmy Cliff. This legend is from the ‘Roots’ side of Rock and Roots. Along with the likes of Bob Marley, Cliff’s reggae beats have helped to popularize this genre thousands of miles beyond the shores of Jamaica.

Cliff is probably best known for tracks like “Wonderful World, Beautiful People”, “The Harder They Come,” and if you ever saw the film ‘Cool Runnings’, you’ll remember his rendition of ‘I can see clearly now’.

Going back to the roots somewhat, here is an old video of him singing ‘The Harder They Come’. To me, this track is just an embodiment of reggae in its purest form.

4. Paul Simon

Granted, if the line-up had added an (&) and then the word ‘Garfunkel’, I’d be even more psyched. I’ve been listening to this duo for over a decade. I even had the immense pleasure of seeing them perform in concert in London’s Hyde Park, around 6 years ago, and it was magical.

Paul Simon is an incredible performer, and despite his age, his melodic voice is as powerful as it ever was. Moreover, he is a sensational songwriter. In his career, he has been awarded 12, yes 12 grammies! The guy practically collects them like baseball cards.

One of his best loved solo songs is ‘You can call me Al’ (which I particularly love as my name actually is Alex and some people do call me Al – for real). It’s just so…happy!

Expect an energetic, memorable performance by one of the greatest musical talents of the 20th century. Fact. Oh, and dear Mr. Simon, if you are reading this, any chance of some ‘Scarborough Fair’ or ‘Mrs Robinson’ while you’re up there performing? Pretty please?

This year’s line-up is sensational – both nights! If you have the time, and you have the mullah, splash out a bit and get tickets for both nights. It’ll cost you but it’s well worth it. This year’s festival may as well be called ‘Night of Legends’.

For ticket prices and bookings via SISTIC see here.

And if you are lucky enough to have already signed up for our Nomad Card’, you could be in with a chance to win 1 of 4 pairs of tickets we have to giveaway. Cardholders, just send me an email at [email protected] and I’ll enter you in our lucky draw. Winners will be emailed Monday 11th March.

Image credits: Robert Plant (Charlie Bryan), Tedeschi Trucks Band (Timbre Rock & Roots), Paul Simon (Mark Seliger), Jimmy Cliff (Timbre Rock & Roots)