This Wednesday (April 11, 2012) The Jolly Boys were special in studio guests on RJR 94FMs weekly live music program ‘Wednesday Night Live‘. The mento maestros had the whole crew dancing and grooving to the sounds of classic and contemporary mento music as they performed selections from their catalog of hits.



Among those performed were the classic mento songs were ‘Emmanuel Road’, ‘Linstead Market’ and ‘Rukumbine’ and their modern mento hits ‘Golden Brown’, ‘Rehab’ and ‘Ring of Fire’. In case you might have missed the broadcast, enjoy the snippet of their performance of Rukumbine (posted above) and this clip of their rendition of Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire!

Jamaica’s globetrotting ‘Kings of Mento’ The Jolly Boys will be LIVE in studio tonight on RJR 94FMs ‘Wednesday Night Live’!



The Jolly Boys will be on the program at 8pm (EST) and will be giving an exclusive interview as well as performing songs from their repertoire of classic and modern mento hits! If you’re in Jamaica join us on RJR 94FM or listen from anywhere in the world LIVE right here!

Jamaica’s Jolly Boys have once again hit the road. This time the legendary mento maestros are taking modern mento music to Australia! The ‘boys’ performed to resounding applause and requests for encores at their very first Australian concert last night at the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre in Penrith outside Sydney. This was the first show of their sold out tour at the 2012 installment of the Sydney Festival.



The Jolly Boys officially kick things off tonight at The Famous Spiegeltent, Honda Festival Garden along with other talented acts including Manu Chao La Ventura, Washington, Gurrumul, Holly Throsby and Trocadero Dance Palace. For a taste of what to expect enjoy this snippet of The Jolly Boys performing their cover of Steely Dan’s “Do it Again” LIVE at the Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre in Penrith outside Sydney, NSW, Australia on January 6, 2012.

On Saturday, November 12, 2011 Alexandra Palace in London, England will be transformed into Jamaica for one night only and The Jolly Boys will be headlining the transformation! Inspired by the island’s famously vibrant nightlife culture the Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project will be channeling the sights, sounds & tastes of Jamaica.



At the same time that a Jamaican venue will be hosting a London themed club night complete with black cabs, kebabs and events that celebrate old English pub traditions and the quintessential British summer festival vibe. These club nights are part of a series of world wide events, with other parties in the series including swaps between Sydney, Sao Paulo, Berlin and Cape Town, South Africa. In this video clip The Jolly Boys prepare to journey to London with a toast to all the fans in the UK and a rehearsal of the classic mento hit “Emmanuel Road”.

This year’s Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project London event will also feature live performances by Ms Dynamite and Basement Jaxx as well as Rob da Bank, Toddla T, Reggae Roast and Wall of Sound, who will all be presenting an exciting mix of live music and DJ sets for Ally Pally clubbers. The Jolly Boys make their way to London on Thursday November 10 courtesy of their sponsors British Airways!

In February, 2011 Jamaica’s Jolly Boys made their long awaited New York City debut to the fans, media, cultuarri and fashionistas at the Hiro Ballroom at the Maritime Hotel. While there they were interviewed by the folks at LargeUp.Com!



Watch as lead singer of The Jolly Boys Albert Minott and Rhumba Box player Derrick “Johnny” Henry talk about their instruments, the history of mento music, Albert’s youthful days as a fire dancer in Port Antonio, Jamaica and the success of their hit modern mento rendition of Amy Winehouse’s “Rehab”.

Yesterday (September 29, 2011) with Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture Hon. Olivia ‘Babsy’ Grange in attendance the National Library of Jamaica (NLJ) held it’s first forum on The Legal Deposit Act which legally requires all Jamaican books, music and film to be deposited in it’s archive as a cultural record.



At the forum Jamaica’s mento music veterans The Jolly Boys presented a copy of their album ‘Great Expectation’ along with a Marumba box made by marumba box maestro Derrick ‘Johnny ‘ Henry of The Jolly Boys from Port Antonio. The marumba box will immediately go into an exhibition on early Jamaican music forms at the Music Museum of Jamaica. Pictured above: Valerie Francis of the National Library of Jamaica accepting the donation of the Marumba box from The Jolly Boys.

Jamaica’s Ambassadors of Mento music are once again preparing for the road. The Jolly Boys will be flying out to Hong Kong, China on Tuesday September 20, 2011 with a quick stop in New York on the way.




Though they will only be doing a single show in Hong Kong they will be taking the time out to shoot exclusive video footage around the Chinese province and do a photo shoot. They return to Jamaica for some local promotions on September 26, 2011. Look out for video uploads here and on our Facebook Page as we follow their journey!

Dave ‘Manpear’ Martin rejoined The Jolly Boys for a performance at the Geejam Hotel Bushbar on Friday night (August 26, 2011). Martin fondly recalled life in Port Antonio in the late fifties and sixties as he told tales of Errol Flynn and how he came to join the group. He remembers first as a youth picking up The Star newspaper on William Street, Port Antonio and running so he could throw it over the veranda to Errol Flynn who owned the Titchfield Hotel at that time and collect his ‘quattie’ (One penny and a halfpenny).



Later he would play the congas in the Kumina segment of the floorshow at the hotel where the original Jolly Boys would be playing their Mento set. After the show was over The Jolly Boys woud announce to all the guests that they were going to play at the Princess Club on West Street, one of the thriving bars and clubs that lined the streets at that time, encouraging any guest heading back to their cruise ships on the Boundbrook wharf to come and see them play again. It was while at the club in 1962 that the young congo player was invited to come and join the band. ‘Pappa’ who had been the Rhumba box player was leaving to follow a different path and Derrick ‘Johnny’ Henry who had joined in 1956 on maracas was taking over the Rhumba box position.

‘Manpear’ fit in well and went on with the band to play many local shows and a residency at the exclusive Frenchman’s Cove Resort. The resort was being managed by an Englishman Aston .A. Forsyth who took his favourite Mento band with him when he left to take over Round Hill in Hopewell, Hanover, Jamaica. The Jolly Boys enjoyed two seasons at Round Hill and were immensely popular among the guests who would often follow them around just to chat and listen to their stories. Among the guests at Round Hill were hoteliers and entertainment spot owners the Dumphy brothers from New Hampshire who insisted that the Jolly Boys ‘come up’. Of course they jumped at the opportunity but had to clear it with their management Mr Clement Lee Sang a supermarket owner in Port Antonio. Martin recalls the manager taking an ‘air taxi’ from Port Antonio to sort out business. Once cleared they were off to the USA.



The band members (Moses Deans, Dave Martin, Derrick Henry and Martell Brown) would spend time playing between Hampton Beach and New Hampshire at all the Dumphy brothers entertainment spots. This was at a time when ‘Calypso’ as it was popularly termed in the states was at its peak, championed by Harry Belafonte’s million dollar selling album “Harry Belafonte sings Calypso”. They enjoyed two seasons in the USA before eventually returning fulltime to Port Antonio where Martin continued to play at the local Frenchman’s Cove and the Trident Hotel before eventually heading off as entertainment on cruise ships travelling around the Caribbean and USA. Martin would eventually settle in California. One could clearly see the emotion ‘Manpear’ felt as he played Mento with ‘The Boys’ again – he had not played Mento for 28 years.

NEW YORK: The Jolly Boys will take a bite out of the Big Apple again Next Week! They’re performing at the Escape To New York 3 day Live Music & Art Festival set for August 5-7, 2011. The Jolly Boys will be performing their repertoire of classic and contemporary mento music hits on Sunday, August 7 in their second New York appearance since rocking the house at the Hiro Ballroom in February of this year and we’ll be following them every step of the way.



Escape to New York is a special event unlike anything the east coast has experienced before with installations and performance art, experimental theatre, high-end glamourous camping “Glamping,” the world’s biggest brunch at a live music festival, and amazing culinary delights.

For Escape To New York Fan Discounts enter the Promo Code: mento when purchasing tickets online. Weekend passes are USD$220 and Day passes are USD$80. Each person can buy up to 4 tickets using the code. Tickets for Friday night’s show can be purchased here. Tickets for Saturday night’s show can be purchased here. Tickets for Sunday night’s show can be purchased here and Weekend Passes can be purchased here!

Lucky fans of The Jolly Boys on Facebook will have the chance to win free passes! We’re giving away 25 Pairs of weekend passes starting Friday July 29th – Thursday August 4th, 2011 Daily on our Facebook Fan Page at 7pm New York Time (6pm Jamaica time). These will be available to our NEW YORK FANS ONLY!! We Are Excited!!! See you there!

Fresh from their groundbreaking tour of Europe as R&B sensation Sade‘s opening act, Jamaica’s Mento Music Ambassadors The Jolly Boys are scheduled to perform at this year’s Escape to New York Music Festival. Set for August 5-7, 2011, the festival was started and inspired by the creative minds behind The Secret Garden Party, an independent arts and music festival which takes place every year in an estate near Huntingdon, England.



Last summer The Jolly Boys gave a memorable performance at The Secret Garden Party and fans can expect an even greater from the mento music giants in August. If you’re in New York missed out on The Jolly Boy’s Big Apple debut at the Hiro Ballroom in February of this year then here’s your chance to see them in action! The Jolly Boys are set to perform on Sunday, August 7 2011. For a taste of what’s to come enjoy this flashback video of The Jolly Boys in performance at The Secret Garden Party last year!



The Escape to New York Music Festival promises to be “unlike anything the east coast has experienced before. You’ll find installation and performance art, experimental theater, high-end camping (Glamping), the world’s biggest brunch at a live music festival, and amazing culinary delights to eclipse any festival you’ve experienced” (more). For details on where to purchase tickets and more, go here! Remember to keep following us on Facebook and Twitter for more updates.