Eighteen years marks a coming of age in a number of cultures. It's an arbitrary number but at the 18th annual Reggae on the River, one could see generational tranisition at work; veterans who have organized the festival since its start are turning their duties over to much younger folks; whole posses of teens roam the grounds. As the old rasta slogan goes, the youth dem taking over.

Also coverage of St. Kitts Music Festival, Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, Nuits D'Afrique (Montreal), Central Park Summerstage, Lincoln Center New York, Sfinks/Antiliaanse Feesten Belgium, Amsterdam Roots Festival, Mar de Musicas Cartagena Spain, and Zimbabwean Music Festival.

I was in a prove-it-to-me mood while wating for Morgan Heritage to take the stage during Roots and Culture Day of last year's annual bob Marley festivities in Long Beach, CA. Though full disclosure would probably not have been a wise idea at the time, I can admit now that I was not altogether familiar with the group. I knew they wer some of singer Denroy Morgan's many offspring. I had seen their young faces staring from the cover of their Don't Haffi Dread (VP), wearing the sort of sullen expressions usually favored by thug-mug rappers and gangsta wannabes. I had heard and was fond of that album's very good title track, but didn't know if it was typical of their sound. Nor did the fact that it was indeed Roots and Culture Day necessarily mean that those descriptive words were applicable to them. Still, there was cause for optimism. The prominently placed religious symbols (Ethiopian cross, Star of David, menorah) that had been set on the stage along with burning sticks of incense conveyed a kind of bold purposefulness, and the volume of ganja smoke around me seemed to be increasing (usually a good sign).