What better way to start the gigging year than to be the furthest away from home we plan to be for the remainder of the year?!
We first played for Skathend Events in 2019, I believe it was, and the band has changed a heck of a lot since back then! We were massively excited to be making our way back down South to see you all!
Saturday 18th finally rolled round, marking a total 8 weeks out of gigging for us! Can't tell you how much we enjoyed pyjamas in that time, but when we're not gigging, it's like all the sparkle has gone! We love our live music and we love everything we do so much, so we couldn't wait to get back out there. We've also been working on a huge chunk of new material, and have a streamlined and, shall we say, rather banging set to kick off 2023 with!
We travelled down in 2 groups for Southend. 1 group consisted of Sugar, Anna and Helen, and the rest of the Reggulites crew travelled in Andy's van (if you know, you know)... We've now got him saved in our phone as VAndy. It was a real long journey. We set out around 1-ish. There was mega traffic. There was the f***ing M25 of it all. Then miraculously and without planning, we all stopped at the same service station at the same time. I'm hoping that's because we're a band and we're just in sync with each other, rather than a complete coincidence. We're that attuned to each other, we all have to wee at the same time?!
We arrived at the venue and did a super quick soundcheck, went to get some grub, and before you know it, it was time to play! And play we did! The place was packed and really hot which is a blessing for February! Everyone was up for a good time and there was a lot of dancing and singing along, which in all fairness we don't always get, because we don't just do mainstream reggae, so I am happy to announce that Skathend Event goers really know their shiz.
It was great to see some familiar faces that we haven't seen in absolute YONKS! To the fella I was chatting to out the back (no jokes please people, keep it clean!) I've forgotten your name and I'm so sorry, but I remember you!! Please tell me your name cause it's driving me bananas.
It was a little nerve racking at times, as the majority of the set hadn't been played out before - we didn't know how you'd react but we'd hoped you'd love it, and it kinda seemed like you did! This makes us extremely happy.
It was such an enjoyable night, and I must personally thank Laila and Steve Hopkins of Skathend Events for inviting us back daaan saaaaaf (please insert more A's if appropriate). What a beautiful vibe the people have down there!
The band piled back into VAndy's Van and arrived back home around the 3:30am mark, ensuring us that they arrived home safely. Lloyd, Anna and Helen crashed in a doozy of an apartment not far from the venue in Basildon, which was really nice, and we went for breakfast before we got in the car to go home the next day.
We extremely excited about showcasing this new set at The Lounge at Boldmere on Saturday evening, and to seeing some beautiful, friendly faces!
With all our love,
The Reggulites x
Check out all the Skathend Events dates for 2023:
You can follow them on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/skathend
We'd love to see you at our next performances!
And don't forget to check out our merch, where you can buy lovely jubbly reggae-related items and show everyone how unique and cool you are!
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