Mystic Bowie's Talking Dreads Perform at The Suffolk

Mystic Bowie is bringing the Caribbean party to The Suffolk when Talking Dreads returns to perform on Friday, June 13, at 8 p.m.

On “Life During Wartime,” the first single from Talking Heads’ 1979 album “Fear of Music,” David Byrne famously sang the immortal lyrics, “This ain’t no party, this ain’t no disco … no time for dancing …” Yet all those anti-fun declarations go gleefully out the window when Mystic Bowie, aka the “Head Dread,” takes the stage, reimagining and infusing fresh life into Talking Heads’ classic catalog with his high octane mix of roots reggae, ska, and lover’s rock (aka “romantic reggae”).

Performing as a singer in Tom Tom Club for nearly 20 years, Mystic Bowie’s connection with founding members of Tom Tom Club and Talking Heads, Chris Frantz and Tina Weymouth, runs deep. His first spark of inspiration for the concept that evolved into Talking Dreads began during his time with the band, when there were attempts by certain entities to secure a new Talking Heads album and reunion tour.

Since debuting his musically revolutionary Talking Dreads project live at the High Times Music Festival on the beach in Negril in late 2015, the charismatic Jamaican-born singer and performer has electrified audiences at over 100 shows across North America — spinning the heads of initially skeptical Talking Heads fans, and getting everyone else grooving along to the infectious, joyous rhythms and jubilant spirit of his native island.

“Talking Dreads is much more than a cover band,” Mystic Bowie says. “I am very much drawing on my own musical culture and history to make these amazing songs my own, while at the same time preserving the integrity of the Talking Heads songs. I’ve always felt that reggae’s dance-inspiring, feel good vibe is universal, as are many of the band’s songs. And don’t forget their intelligent, powerful lyrics, which are fun to sing and shine fresh light on this new fusion of styles. It took a lot of effort to deconstruct and dissect each song to make it work seamlessly with my singing and performance style. I removed all the instrumentation, kept the story and words, then created my own reggae, Caribbean and tribal feel and married those two elements — then brought back a few of the melodies that captured my attention back in the day.”

Tickets are $25 to $45 at thesuffolk.org. The Suffolk is at 118 East Main Street in Riverhead.