Jamaican star, Eric Donaldson famed for hit songs such as ‘Traffic lights’ and ‘Cherry Oh Baby’ is set to headline the Umoja Splash peace tour slated for 5th June to 30th July.
The tour will see the ‘Cherry Oh’ hitmaker do a 2-month countrywide tour of Eldoret, Nakuru, Meru, Mombasa alongside top Kenyan acts and DJs.
The tour dates are as follows:
5th June – Kisumu
12th June – Eldoret
19th June – Nakuru
25th June – Meru
4th July – Mombasa
30th July – Nairobi
The tour is organized by Umoja Splash Festival and managed by Ngoma Tucheze who is famed for bringing top reggae acts in the country.
Speaking about the event, the organizers said, “The past two elections have stretched our faith as Kenyans, created boundaries, divided us between tribal lines, and deterred us from celebrating our unity and diversity.
Through this tour, we intend to preach and promote peace ahead of the elections as well as give Kenyans an unforgettable experience and also instill in them the spirit of oneness and being Kenyan”.
The peace county tour will act as a curtain-raiser ahead of the main peace concert to be held in Nairobi featuring a top international act to be unveiled later.
Music provides parameters that can be used to frame experiences, perceptions, feelings, and comportments and we hope to achieve our objective of One Kenya United for the betterment of its people.
About Eric Donaldson
Eric Donaldson (born 11 June 1947 in Bog Walk, Jamaica) is a Jamaican reggae singer-songwriter and performer from Saint Catherine, Jamaica.
Born in Kent Village, about 2 miles from Bog Walk, Donaldson first recorded for Studio One in 1964, although producer Clement Dodd declined to release the material, In the mid-1960s he formed The West Indians with Leslie Burke and Hector Brooks, and they had a hit with the J.J. Johnson-produced “Right On Time” in 1968, going on to record with Lee “Scratch” Perry and subsequently changing their name to the Kilowatts, but without further success.
Donaldson then pursued a solo career, and submitted “Cherry Oh Baby” to the 1971 Jamaican Festival Song Competition, going on to win the competition and giving him a big Jamaican hit single.
Donaldson has won the competition six times, in 1971, 1977, 1978, 1984, 1993, and 1997. “Cherry Oh Baby” has been covered by both The Rolling Stones (on their 1976 album, Black and Blue) and UB40 (on their 1983 album, Labour of Love).
The riddim has remained extremely popular – over thirty cover versions have been recorded, including an update by Donaldson himself.
Two of his festival winners (“Sweet Jamaica” (1977) and “Land of My Birth” (1978)) were written by Winston Wallace.
In an online poll held in 2013 by the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission, “Land of My Birth” was voted the most popular winner in the contest’s history.
Donaldson currently lives in Kent Village, Jamaica.
