Claudia Gardner, Assignment Coordinator

WESTERN BUREAU:

Roots reggae artiste Norris Man travelled halfway across the world to make what was his debut performance on Rebel Salute 2015.

The artiste told The Star he flew from Europe to grace the stage of the the two-night event, which is promoted by veteran reggae/dancehall icon Tony Rebel.

"This is my first time ever on the Rebel Salute stage and I give thanks that Tony Rebel decided to put me on after so long. It wasn't too late. Everything was right on time and my time was good. I flew all the way in from Scandinavia. From Scandinavia to New York, to Miami, to here," he told The Star in an interview following his performance, which included renditions of his popular hits Persistence and Park Your Guns Bad Boy.

"The crowd's response was lovely. It was a mature audience. It's not like a Sting or one of those shows. I'm not criticising anybody's show, but after I have been doing so much conscious songs over the years, I think the best platform for me in Jamaica would be Rebel Salute," the artiste added.

Norris Man was also using his time in Jamaica to promote his new 13-track album, Real, launched in Gothenburg, Sweden, a month ago.

"We have a blend of songs (on the album). We are trying to embrace the roots rock, lovers rock - the conscious music style. We keep in that channel, no matter what, because that was what I grew up on - the Dennis Brown, the Gregory Isaacs, the John Holt, so we try to keep that reggae, soul, melodic vibe. The album did not have a launch here in Jamaica, but it was distributed to disc jockeys and radio personnel," he explained.

"I am going back to Scandinavia for four shows. So I leave here two days from now and then I will just keep travelling. I have Australia in the future and some other festivals down the year in Europe. As far as I know, I am going to be back in Jamaica in May," he added.