The time had come to see the band I had been waiting to see since the release of their debut album 'One'. The set up took a little longer than expected but that only built up the suspense, as long as you could handle the DJ playing what I believe was reggae but with the bass so loud it actually distorted through the speakers so you really couldn’t hear anything but mud and thump. On the plus side when Tomorrow people finally came on the comparison made them sound even better (if that was possible).
The front line was both enigmatic and charismatic throughout the entire set, switching between lead vocalists and throwing in up to 4 part harmonies with ease. Crowd interaction was amazing, from shout outs to getting the crowd singing along with them, they even managed to throw in some covers of Bob Marley and UB40 which they nailed with scary accuracy, no really I had shivers down my spine! Luke (the main front man) sounds so similar to Ali Campbell when covering UB40 I had to do a double take to make sure the Rasta’s hadn’t spiked me with something. So if you haven’t been to a Tomorrow People gig yet and you love reggae you’re in for a hell of a show and I look forward to seeing more of these guys in the future (even if it is just to perve at Luke’s guitar haha).
Out of the 100+ reggae bands currently active in NZ, not one of them has moved up the ranks faster than Wellington band Tomorrow People. From their humble garage to an award winning debut album, the band has gone from strength to strength and showing no signs of slowing down.
A studio project turned live stage show, the 7-piece band are purveyors of what they describe as ‘sunshine reggae’. Focused on providing a mid-tempo sound that, while clearly reggae-centric, adds touches of dancehall ragga to its colour. It is a sound built around strong vocals, soothing harmonies, catchy hooks, aggressive ragga raps, and feel good riddims (rhythms).
Together, the members of mixed descent (NZ/Maori/Pacific Island) have decades of experience in the music industry, citing previous careers in hip-hop, R&B, gospel, funk and soul. Taking their name from a Ziggy Marley song, Tomorrow People live up to the futuristic allusions it casts, having built their fan base via social media (www.facebook.com/tomorrow.ppl) and demo tracks uploaded to YouTube. While they gather their musical influences from Jamaican and Hawaiian artists alike, once combined with their roots in NZ music, they bring a sound that is clean, laid-back and easy on the eardrums.