REGGAE Sumfest 2022 saw a number of acts making their debut on the popular event.

Friday’s opening night saw one of these acts not only making their debut, but also being tasked with opening the show, which had been on hiatus like the rest of the global entertainment industry due to the pandemic.

The Herbert Morrison Technical High School band was selected to be the first act on the stage at Reggae Sumfest in two years and served to open the curtains on the event and fill the appetite of the eager patrons. They gave a strong account of themselves.

The MoBay-based pop band was fronted by vocalists Ashley “Hayley” Morrison and Tyler ” Vani” Wright and both proved to be true performers as their set included a strong mix of music representing different eras of the Jamaican music experience.

Morrison and Wright were still on a musical high when the Jamaica Observer caught up with them nearly an hour after they performed on the Sumfest stage.

“At first, I was super nervous but after a while being on the stage I was like ‘Hey, I’ve done this before and I can do it again’.’ So interacting with the audience was great and it gave me a lot of vibes, so it was great,” said Morrison.

“For me, it’s a dream come true. So I was just trying to not mess it up taking my mind out of nervousness. I work off confidence, focusing on interaction with the audience and the vibe, so I put myself in that mindset. I call it charging up. But if I’m to be honest, this was a dream for me. In 2019, I was here in the audience looking at my role model Chronixx on the stage and tears came to my eyes as I said to myself ‘One day I want to be there in the next five year’. So to just have it come true in three years, and it’s not just being on the Sumfest stage, but also opening Reggae Sumfest as we come out of COVID, when everyone is just coming out was just surreal,” Wright added.

Wright, Morrison, the band and the staff advisors all worked on putting together the set which featured a medley of popular hits from back in the day. Wayne Wonder’s Saddest Day of My Life, Telephone Love by JC Lodge, Rumours by Gregory Isaacs, Action by Nadine Sutherland, were all blended with current hits, including Brick Pon Brick by Skillibeng and One and Move by Govana were delivered by the duo and band.

“We were opening the show so we wanted to ensure that the audience was all covered by this performance. We had to go into our musical knowledge from the past come to present to ensure that everybody felt included. Fans of Skeng, Govana and Aidonia are here, so we wanted to cater to them but also crowd is here so wanted to give them something too,” Wright explained.

Both 18 years old, they are set to pursue other areas of study — Wright is preparing to study marine biology while Morrison is looking to a career in psychology. But are both committed to pursuing their musical dreams.