Lloyd Evans passes
Grove Road hailed for grounding reggae acts
Lloyd Evans, a pivotal figure in the reggae industry, died on December 25 at University Hospital of the West Indies.
Details on the cause of death are yet to be released.
Evans, 72, was head of Blue Mountain Music which worked with a number of artistes including Tenor Saw, Cocoa Tea, Frankie Paul, The Mighty Diamonds, Culture, Robert French and Jimmy Riley.
His Grove Road complex in Kingston also hosted some of the biggest dances during the 1980s and 1990s.
In a 2023 interview posted on YouTube, Evans said he got involved in music in 1978. While he recorded some of the biggest artistes in dancehall-reggae, the impresario considered Grove Road his biggest achievement.
“Grove Road has been the diamond of all of my involvement in the music/entertainment industry. Because Grove Road is a special place, a special place because so many artistes got their jump start at Grove Road, that is now called The Grove,” he said.
That location was also the base for the 809 Band, an all-star ensemble built around saxophonist Dean Fraser, trombonist Nambo Robinson, and trumpeter Chico Chin.
Fraser remembers Evans as “A big part of 809 when we started.”
The veteran musician said 809 rehearsed at Grove Road and backed several of the artistes associated with Blue Mountain Music, including Culture, Frankie Paul, and Cocoa Tea.
In recent years, the Grove Road complex housed the popular Blue Bamboo restaurant.
The funeral service for Lloyd Evans is scheduled for January 18 at Fellowship Tabernacle Church, 2 Fairfield Avenue, in Maverley, St Andrew.
