Live at Soul Mama Stratford in London: Rocksteady Reggae with Wayne Hernandez

Expect a live set that honours the pivotal sounds of reggae, rocksteady, ska and lovers rock, featuring tracks by pioneers like Desmond Dekker, Alton Ellis and The Techniques. From Jimmy Cliff’s “Wonderful World, Beautiful People” and The Melodians’ “Rivers of Babylon” to Bob Marley’s “Don’t Rock My Boat” and John Holt’s beloved “Help Me Make It Through the Night”, each song captures a moment in Jamaican musical history. You’ll also hear lovers rock anthems and roots classics like “Tempted to Touch”, “Wild World” and “Money In My Pocket”, played live with the groove and energy they were born to carry.

Rocksteady, which flourished in the mid-60s as a slower, more soulful evolution of ska, laid the foundations for reggae’s global rise and remains one of Jamaica’s most influential genres. With Wayne’s voice at the helm, praised by The Guardian as “emotive and effortless”, this show offers a deep dive into the sounds that shaped a nation, performed with the respect, joy and spirit they deserve.

Wayne Hernandez

Get ready for a soulful evening with the charismatic soul singer Wayne Hernandez who always gets the audience going with his infectious energy and amazingly powerful voice. He has a tight backing band that perform a repertoire of all-time soul and funk classics by Marvin Gaye, Curtis Mayfield and even the odd reggae track by Bob Marley. Wayne himself is hugely successful session singer who has worked with the likes of Billy Ocean , Blur, Tina Turner, Madonna and the Gorillaz.

Wayne Hernandez is one of those fantastic singers who has been using his considerable talents for many years to make others sound good. Hugely successful within the music business he has worked with Tina Turner, Tori Amos, Blur, Grover Washington, Roberta Flack, Madonna and Rag'n'Bone Man. He has also toured extensively with Kool and the Gang, Regina Bell and most recently Billy Ocean, and is one of the singers with the band Gorillaz (oh, that guy!). Of Afro-Cuban heritage, Wayne is a long-time member of the London Community Gospel Choir and more recently the Kingdom Choir, who took the world by storm after performing at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. In addition, Wayne resided in New York for a number of years and describes his music as “…a living fusion of music styles from the Black music scene”. Also a well-established songwriter and producer, this multi-talented artist delivers a simply brilliant set of powerful groove music with an impressive eight-piece band of hand-picked musicians, including guitar, sax and backing vocals, that define the word “soul”.

“...it was clear that Wayne had a very special talent, his voice, it was simply breathtaking” Livemusic.fm