BICKLEY Rivera
Lead Vocalist, Steelpan
Bickley Rivera's music is heard on over 100 radio stations in the US, internet radio globally, Africa, UK, Greece and Europe. Her unique steelpan/reggae artistry has positioned her #13 on Relix/Jambands.com chart and #37 on CMJ New World Charts, as well as #16 on smooth jazz charts for her other albums. Her music is heard on television as well, most known for 4 singles played on The Weather Channel and a single that plays on Music Choice.
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Bickley has co-produced "Caribbean Madness", the only Caribbean Riverboat Cruise series on the Connecticut River, which sold out for 5 seasons. She has opened for national groups, such as "America" and performed with many other international artists, Tony "Kitch" Paine (son of legendary Lord Kitchner), Jazz singer Joan Cartwright, Eugene Grey (touring guitarist for reggae-star Burning Spear), performed in Trinidad's International Panorama 2015 semi-final competition under the leadership of Andy Narell.
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Her group has performed for Tampa Bay's WMNF 88.5FM Caribbean Cruze Festival for 3 years and venues in Maryland, Connecticut, New York, Massachusettes, Rhode Island, Michigan, Ohio, Bahamas and Trinidad.
Bickley has been the music orchestrator and arranger (2015-2019) for Pro Comm's Theater Group, under the leadership of Dr. Martha Velez. Bickley was awarded by GHP Radio the Best World Island/Reggae Music and nominated for Best Smooth Jazz Soul Female Artist, Best Female Producer/Songwriter and Best Latin & Brazilian Jazz.
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Bickley Rivera studied classic piano for 16 years, starting at age 5, performed and won music scholarships and awards in the New England area during her earlier years of her music career.
Nelson Rivera
Percussion, Vocals
Nelson Rivera has been playing music from a very early age, as a bassist and percussionist in a plethora of genres. His variety of styles have covered rock and roll, heavy metal, fusion, bilingual pop, smooth jazz then landing in the caribbean vibe for the last 20 years.
Nelson's origin in music stems from his Puerto Rican descent, growing up listening to Aguinaldo music and watching his dad perform as a cuatro guitarist in performing groups. Nelson performed in 10 bands, some very well-known in Wisconsin and the last two groups, Cuba Libre and Bickley Island Chill, which he performs with his wife as a core group.
His caribbean influence has help shape the production of "Caribbean Madness", the only Caribbean Riverboat Cruise series on the Connecticut River, which sold out for 5 seasons. His performances have taken him to Wisconsin, Michigan, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, Ohio, Maryland, Florida and Bahamas, averaging over 120 shows a year. If there is one phrase to describe Nelson, most would say "Ya Mon!"
FLOYD T. LEWIS
Guitar, Vocals
Floyd Lewis started playing in 1975 on an island in the West Indies called Grenada. Migrated to the U.S. and settled in Brooklyn New York in 1977. Heavily influenced by the Reggae revolution with Bob Marley, I continued learning and teaching myself the instrument at home. I started taking lessons from a local musician in High School and the first year of college. Decided to take it a little more seriously and switched majors from Accounting to Music. My first year as a music major I was taught Classical guitar techniques in the styles of Mozart, Stravinsky and Beethoven. I eventually leaned more towards Jazz and Modern music in order to explore more freedom musically. That same year I started playing Pop Rock and R & B with a local band I helped get started. We stayed together through all the college years and at some point migrated more towards Heavy/Speed Metal (ala Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Slash of Guns-N-Roses) and Classic Rock (Journey, Toto, Chicago, Rush, Dream Theatre).
I became classically trained in Jazz Improvisation at the Mannes College of Music New York City and also the Brooklyn Conservatory. Moved to Florida in 1994 and joined Reggae band and fell in love with Reggae music all over again. I’ve also worked as a freelance musician with numerous Reggae, R & B, Smooth Jazz and Hip Hop Bands through out the Tampa Bay area since. I’ve also done several studio sessions helping other musicians create singles and albums. Now I’ve come full circle to the beginning of my journey into the fusion of all my musical influences.
Papa yen
Keyboards, Drums
Papa Yen, hails from Dominica, is heart and soul when it comes to reggae! He has performed all over the Caribbean, and both East and West coast of Florida in multiple bands. His falcetto vocals are so identifiable, we love his peaceful and dedicated nature!
DESMOND (Dezzi) Davidson
Keyboards, Vocoder
Desmond Davidson, whose main instruments are keyboards and Vocoder was born in Jamaica. Well-known in the gospel, reggae, Afro/Caribbean, smooth jazz and RnB circles, he has shared the stage with Buju Banton; The Marleys; Luciano; Beres Hammond; Ne-Yo; Capleton; Marcia Griffiths and Toots & the Maytals to name a few. His favorite reggae artists are Koffee, Kronix and Protoje.
Desmond's onstage setup: Korg Kronos; Korg Krome; Yamaha MODX; Yamaha Motif EX; Roland Jupiter80 and the Roland G6
Favorite Quote: Without Music Life Would Be A Mistake
RICK JONES
Drummer, Percussionist
Rick Jones is from Houma, Louisiana. He grew up playing the music scene in New Orleans. He has played many genres such as blues, rock, jazz, latin, funk, heavy metal, and recently reggae. He studied percussion performance at Northwestern State University in Louisiana and became a member of the 257th Army Band in Shreveport, LA.
Later in his career as an Army musician, he proudly became a member of the 3rd US Infantry Regt. (The Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps), out of Fort Myer, VA. This unit is the official ceremonial unit for the President of the United States. He has performed for every US President from George Bush 41 to Barrack Obama 44. He has also performed for world leaders such as Queen Elizabeth of England, Pope Benedict XVI, and President Hu Jintao of China.
He is currently a Registered Nurse at Florida Cancer Specialist and continues his passion of playing music.
