Bristol Amphitheatre, July 28th
To gauge just how big a coup @sirenbristol pulled off in bringing international dancehall icon Sean Paul to Bristol’s Harbourside amphitheatre we need to look at the facts.
36.5 million monthly listeners on Spotify. Just shy of 10 million album sales worldwide. Grammy winner, multi time grammy nominee. Multiple MTV & MOBO awards. Collaborations with Beyonce, Pharrell Williams, David Guetta, Sia & Dua Lipa.
Make no mistake Sean Paul Ryan Francis Henriques is music royalty, so 2 days on it still feels very surreal to have had him bouncing the stage and a capacity crowd in the heart of the city.
Paul still has enough energy to put many up n coming artists to shame. Arriving on stage in bright white tracksuit and bouncing high n hard enough to make the water in the harbour rise n fall. We were launched into a 20 year trip of some of the best reggae-pop/dancehall tracks ever written. Sean Paul is one of those artists that you simply forget how many huge tunes are in the catalogue. The set delivered pretty much everything you could hope for. From “Get Busy”, “Gimme The Light” & “We Be Burnin’” to “Breathe” & new single “Summa Hot” bringing us right up to date.
The weather might have been cool n blustery, but Sean Paul brought some tropical, Jamaican flavour and heat to the West Country. Steam rising from the stage into the dimming blue hour light as many clambered onto shoulders to get a better view.
If you see half the population of Bristol rocking Sean Paul T-shirts next week do not be surprised. Sean & crew constantly catapulting & slingshotting tee’s into the swarming crowd all night long.
We are in a different age now from the time “Dutty Rock” was unleashed on the world. So hearing some of the language and machismo references toward the women of Bristol may have raised a few eyebrows in 2023, but it all appeared to be taken in good nature by the crowd and there was certainly no offence intended.
The performance overall was blistering, packed with energy and classic sing out loud moments. Paul’s dancehall crown is definitely safe for sometime to come.
@bristolnomad_gigphotography / The Bristol Nomad
@thebristolnomad / @bristolnomad_gigphotography
Role: Photographer / Reviewer / Interviewer
Chief, the one that bugs the team for team for their reviews and images. Creator and founder of The Bristol Gig Guide. Can usually be found swamped in admin or getting cramp kneeling at the front of a gig.
Available for: Gig Shoots, Gig Reviews, Photo Shoots, Album and Single cover shoots, Videography work, Interviews and Touring
First attended gig: Republica, circa 1996.
First gig shot: Hands Off Gretel, at The Louisiana!
Dream gig: Huge metalhead and my ultimate dream gig would be shooting my heroes Slipknot at a huge stadium gig, or as festival headliners. And to experience shooting a headline tour outside the UK
