I would like to thank Ananta Pancham and the St. Thomas Source for your July 11 article entitled "On Island Profile: Pressure". As a disc jockey and music promoter of reggae music in California, I have been enthralled with the Cruzial roots music emanating from the Virgin Islands in recent years. And I am not alone, as the St. Croix band Midnite has become one of the most popular reggae groups in California of late. Last month, the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival featured many notable reggae artists such as Steel Pulse, Shaggy, Toots and The Maytals, The Abyssinians, and Luciano. But the overwhelming consensus among the more than 5,000 people in attendance was that the "Virgin Islands Roots Eruption", which featured Pressure, Army, Batch, Ras Attitude, The Zioniers, Iba and Bambu Station, stole the show.
For years I have been checking into the Source to learn more about V.I. music, only to be disappointed by the lack of press coverage given to what is rapidly becoming a world-wide phenomenon (Midnite is making their European debut at the J.A. Sound Festival in France next month.) I am very pleased to see the recent articles regarding Pressure and the concerts taking place in St. Croix on July 22, and in St. Thomas on July 23, in celebration of the 113th birthday of Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia. I hope this is a trend that will continue in the weeks and months to come.
Sincerely,
Daniel Frankston
San Francisco, Calif.
