Etana ready to spread love in California

Reggae star Etana, who is nominated in the reggae vocalist category at this year’s International Reggae and World Music Awards (IRAWMA), is looking forward to pushing along with her Spread Love tour in February, even as she relishes her latest nomination.

“IRAWMA is a very good vehicle for the reggae industry, and one of the longest-standing reggae awards shows in our art form, so big-ups to IRAWMA for continuing to support the industry,” Etana said.

Etana is nominated alongside Lila Ike, Koffee and Queen Ifrica in the best reggae vocalist category.

The announcement was made at the event’s media launch, held at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston recently.

The awards ceremony is slated for the AC Hotel by Marriott on March 29.

Etana is one of the most popular reggae touring acts in the world. She recently returned to Jamaica after performing at three shows in Australia in January.

One of the events was held in the city of Sydney at Red Rattler Theatre, while the other two were held at Seaworks venue and at Bar204 Up, Close & Personal in Melbourne, Australia. Etana also performed at the One Love Festival in New Zealand in front of a sold-out audience of 10,000.

“I really loved the interaction with the fans in Australia and New Zealand, they are amazing reggae fans and it feels great to be an ambassador for the art form in locations as far as (there). It just goes to show the amazing impact of reggae music,” she said.

She is co-headlining a string of shows during this week and on the weekend, alongside celebrated reggae band Black Uhuru, in California.

The first show was scheduled for February 5, while today she is billed for Goldfield Trading Post. Other shows to come are at Longbords Pacifica on February 7 in Long Beach on February 8, and at the Brooklyn Bowl Las Vegas on February 9.

She is currently in studio recording her seventh studio album, which will be released on her Freemind Music label during the summer 2020.

“The year 2020 is already shaping up to be a challenging but exciting one, as I will be working with several producers on my new album project,” she said.

She will be releasing singles and videos during Reggae Month.