Just as the legendary Toots and The Maytals waltz into the Olympia in Liverpool, SFN‘s Jack Cinnamond finds himself in the company of reggae royalty. 

“It’s been a long time!” exclaims the legendary frontman of The Maytals, Toots to an adoring crowd at the always-stunning Olympia as he cranks out another classic from the catalogue. 

Toots in the man who coined the word “reggae” and he proves it with every step. 

His band are tight, welcoming us to the set with a jazzy instrumental intro. He’s introduced as Toots as his band let’s the pressure drop, actually with “Pressure Drop“.

We’re already moving, Toots and his Maytals hit with song-after-song to keep us moving. 

Their cover of Richard Berry‘s “Louie Louie” is an early highlight, we know the words and Toots let’s us join in on every chance. 

He’s an amazing frontman, always has been but now we can see him in his way. 

Towards the end of their enduring set, a very personal cover of John Denver‘s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” with his replaced lyric of “West Jamaica” to show his love for his home. 

He returns after the end for his encore, preforming their iconic “64-46 That’s My Number” with us involved in the entire time. Toots asks for us seven times, and we oblige, “nobody has ever done seven times!” he yells. 

At the end, we’re extremely happy to have been with Toots for the night and he’s very thankful for being with us. Everything we really want in the gig, simple fun.