U.S. Tour Alert – Romain Virgo Hits West Coast / Feature on Billboard.biz

22-year-old Jamaican singer-songwriter Romain Virgo hits the road on a whirlwind tour stretching across California, Oregon and Washington throughout the rest of June and July. In support of his critically acclaimed albumThe System, Virgo will perform at a variety of club venues with fellow artists Perfect and Prince Allah as well as major festivals – including Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, Reggae on The River and Bridge City Music Festival. See Romain Virgo’s full tour schedule below and check www.facebook.com/RomainVirgo for most up-to-date information.

Since its May 8 release, Romain Virgo’s The System (VP Records) has remained at the top of the Billboard Reggae Album chart – where it debuted at #6. Virgo’s second album has been so well-received within the Jamaican diaspora that his recent album launch concert – held on May 30 in Kingston, Jamaica at the Emancipation Park – drew in a massive crowd of nearly 2000 people along with major sponsors like Red Bull, Pepsi and Digicel.

Critics continue to rave about The System – calling Virgo’s
music “striking” (Washington Post), “high-quality” (BBC) and “so present, so affecting” (New York Times). In a recent article, Billboard describes Virgo as “a leading light among a new generation of roots reggae stars” and mentions how he has chosen “empowering messages over misogynistic and violent lyrics, intricately textured one-drop rhythms instead of frenetic digital beats…and found an appreciative, multi-generational audience.”

Read BILLBOARD’s full story on the rising star’s success:
http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/industry/record-labels/how-rising-reggae-star-romain-virgo-is-breaking-1007324562.story

It has only been five years since Romain Virgo became the youngest winner of TVJ’s popular “Rising Stars” – Jamaica’s equivalent to American Idol. In this short time frame, Romain recorded his debut self-titled album with several chart-topping reggae hits (“Can’t Sleep” and “Wanna Go Home”) and his new album The System. He has won numerous awards within the Caribbean community – including Entertainer of the Year by The Jamaica Recording Industry Association (JaRIA). He made history again as the first Jamaican artist to perform at Academy of Country Music Awards in Nashville, Tennessee – where he sung his Reggae’s Gone Country rendition of “All The Gold In California” alongside original vocalists The Gatlin Brothers.

ROMAIN VIRGO U.S. TOUR DATES:
Sat June 23 @ Sierra Nevada World Music Festival, Boonville, CA
Wed Jun 27 @ Echoplex, Los Angeles, CA
Thu Jun 28 @ World Beat Center, San Diego, CA
Fri Jun 29 @ Moe’s Alley, Santa Cruz, CA
Sat Jun 30 @ Wild Mountain Fair Festival, Concow, CA
Sun Jul 1 @ The Shattuck Down Low, Berkeley, CA
Mon Jul 2 @ HopMonk Tavern, Sebastopol, CA
Fri Jul 6 @ Bridge City Music Festival at The Refuge, Portland, OR
Sat Jul 7@ Club Sur, Seattle, WA
Sat Jul 21 @ Reggae On The River, Garberville, CA

Reggae Artiste Romain Virgo’s “The System” Hits Billboard Charts

Singer, Romain Virgo’s new sophomore album, The System, has hit the Reggae Billboard chart. The album which was released last week made its debut in the number 6 spot yesterday.

Romain, whose work has shown undeniable depth and maturity since the release of his excellent debut album, Romain Virgo, says he is elated by the news. “When I found out I was really happy to tell you the truth. We worked extremely hard on this album, from the songwriting, to production and packaging – the entire thing. So it’s definitely a great feeling to have it on the Billboard charts, especially so soon after it was released.”

Romain who is known for his effortless hits, System, Cyaa Sleep, Dark Skin Girl, Who Feels It Knows It, Wanna Go Home and more, says not only is he excited about his musical future, but also about the future of reggae music. “I have a long way to go, when I look at the major achievements of the reggae artistes before me; that is definitely something to aspire toward and that’s what I’m focusing on right now. And apart from myself there are a lot more promising young artistes, so I think it’s a great future for reggae as long as we continue to work hard and put in the effort.”

An exciting album launch for The System will take place at Emancipation Park, St. Andrew on May 30 at 6 P.M.

Romain Virgo Ready To Take The System On Tour

22-year-old singer-songwriter Romain Virgo announces new U.S. tour dates and the release of his sophomore album The System, available May 8 onVP Records. Romain Virgo delivers a quality set of dynamic, conscious-themed roots and lover’s rock tales on The System. Each song flows seamlessly to the next and shimmers with the vocal delivery of one of Jamaica’s most captivating new voices. Romain teamed up with Jamaica’s top producers on the new album, including Shane Brown (who produced seven of the songs) as well as Donovan Germain and Viking Productions. During the end of April, Romain will embark on a mini U.S. tour run throughout the Northeastern region including shows in New York City, Hartford and Philadelphia.

It has only been five years since Romain Virgo made history as the youngest winner of TVJ’s popular “Rising Stars” – Jamaica’s equivalent to American Idol. In this short time frame, Romain teamed up with reggae producer Donovan Germain to record several chart-topping reggae hits (“Can’t Sleep” and “Wanna Go Home”), released a stellar self-titled debut album with VP, won numerous awards within the Caribbean community and made history as the first Jamaican artist to perform at Academy of Country Music Awards in Nashville, Tennessee.

He continues this success with his second full-length release The System. Recorded primarily at the legendary Penthouse Studio, these 15 lyrically sophisticated tracks offer compelling accounts of the challenges of living the ghetto life. Songs like “Minimum Wage”, “Another Day Another Dollar,” Press On” and “Not Today” are clear examples of the struggle that many face on a daily basis. And on the gritty first single “I Know Better,” Romain cautions the youth to refrain from picking up the gun despite their desperate circumstances.

The album would not be complete without a set of Romain’s romantic antics. His ability to swoon the ladies is evident on tracks like the 2011 reggae chart topper “I Am Rich in Love,” “Broken Heart” featuring Busy Signal, the sensuous rub-a-dub tune “Fired Up Inside” and on a rendition of Adele’s haunting “Don’t You Remember,” which is currently receiving rotation in Japan.

Romain Virgo to drop his second album in May

Prominent Reggae singer,Romain Virgo looks to capitalize on his growing international exposure as he plans to unveil his second album later this year.

Virgo’s upcoming sophomore effort, The System will be released on May 8, featuring 15 tracks including Rich in Love, Mama Say and its title track,System. This is the first compilation from the former Digicel Rising Stars since his self-titled album, Romain Virgo in 2010.

According to Virgo, fans can expect to see some of his maturity, both as a singer and as a person, insisting that while people will see hints of his personality from the debut album, his musical growth will be evident throughout the album. Furthermore, he’s asked for fan feedback on the album once it drops as a way to gauge its popularity and which singles connected most with them.

Meanwhile, Virgo continues to dominate local airwaves as singles like System and I Know Better continue to do well on local charts. Additionally, the emerging singer won three times at this year’s Linkage Awards in New York, taking home Male Vocalist of the Year, Most Consistent Artiste of the Year and Recording Artiste of the Year titles.

Bugle’s Journey Moves Into Full Gear

Anticipation is building for the staging of Bugle’s Journey. The event is set to unfold on April 8 at Lynch Park, Buff Bay in Portland.

The event has secured main sponsorship from telecommunications company Digicel and is being promoted in association with Major Links Entertainment, Daseca Productions and Shocking Vibes Productions.

Bugle’s Journey will celebrate Bugle and his remarkable work as an entertainer and recording artiste for the past ten years.

Joining the growing list of sponsors are Sud Up detergent soap and Pakia Limited.

Group Sales and Marketing Manager for Pakia, Shama Johnson said her company is pleased to be on board with Bugle for the staging of the event.

“Pakia Limited is pleased to sponsor Bugle’s Journey through its brands Bama’s full flavour and menthol cigarettes, Kush Cognac and Harlem Bluntz. This was a no brainer for us to come on board as Bugle represents a change in music with his signature vocals, as well as the longstanding relationship that our company has had with Bugle. We look forward to this event as well as other projects in the future”.

The inaugural concert aims to provide top class entertainment and as such will see high powered performances from Bugle, Tarrus Riley, Demarco, Christopher Martin, Romain Virgo, Alaine, Leftside, Louie Culture, and Junior X.

The supporting cast of performers will also include Major Links recording artiste Vybrant as well as Jahmiel, Proppa Fade, Quick Cook, Press Fire, Black Diamon, Versatile and Bencil among others.

In between performances, the musical temperature will be turned up with intense juggling from Renaissance Disco, Swatch International, DJ Naz, Gary Chucks, Richie Feelings, Razz & Biggy and Little Richie.

Part proceeds from the staging of the concert will benefit charity projects in and around the Buff Bay area.

Romaine Virgo, Mavado, I-Octane, Khago, Kiprich Top Nominees For 2011 Linkage Awards In NYC

New York: Reggae rising star Romaine Virgo, who made international headlines last year when he became the first ever reggae artist to perform on one of country music’s most revered stages – the Country Music Awards in Nashville, Tennessee – is again in the spotlight, this time for securing a whopping 4 nominations for the 2011 Linkage Awards. Other multiple nominees include Mavado who grabbed 3 nominations and I-Octane, Kiprich, Tony Matterhorn and Khago who nabbed two nominations each. The Linkage Awards will be staged on Sunday, March 11, 2012 at the Macedonia Center in Mt. Vernon, New York.

Romaine scored nominations for “Recording Artiste of the Year,” “Best Male Vocalist,” “Most Consistent Male Artist,” “Song Of The Year” whileMavado earned nominations for “Male DJ of the Year,” “Most Consistent Artiste” and “Entertainer of the Year”

Last year’s big winner, I-Octane who pocketed all of three awards, was nominated for “Recording Artiste of the Year” and “Most Consistent Artist” this year.

In the competitive “Song of the Year” award category, Virgo will go head to head again Laza Morgan (One By One), Beres Hammond (She Stop Loving Me) and the combination single “Live Your Life” by Richie Stephens and Gentleman which was voted “Song of the Year 2011” on Irie Jam radio in New York.

Stephens who is scheduled to perform at the Linkage Awards said, “I feel honored that ‘Live Your Life’ is up for the all important ‘Song of the Year Award.’ The song has done extremely well at home and in the international market. I thank my loyal fans and the media for their love and support and thank Gentleman for providing a shoulder to lean on when I needed it most. I would be delighted if we walked away with the top prize” he said.

Event founder Dexter “Linkage” Blake announced that reggae singers Marcia Griffiths, Beres Hammond, Denroy Morgan, Wayne Wonder, Sanchez, Ken Boothe, DJ Lady G and radio personalities Barry G – (Mello FM, Jamaica), Jabba (Hot 97, NY), DJ Norie (Power 105, NY) and DJ Roy (Irie Jam Radio, NY) will be honored for their contribution to the entertainment industry.