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Malta’s largest Afro BBQ Party!
What Went Down at the Reggae Brunch x Afro Island All White BBQ Brunch – We outside Malta !
To conclude the month of July with a bang, the last weekend in Malta got fiery, as the Afro Island x Reggae Brunch BBQ day party took place under the local sunny skies. The festival’s second edition on the rock, featured a 3-day weekend which closed on a high, thanks to the joint effort with Afro Island. For those still unaware, Reggae Brunch has placed itself as one of the biggest party brunch organisers in the UK, hosting hundreds of attendees monthly, across cities like London, Birmingham, and Manchester. This year’s edition in Malta featured an all-white secret garden party that welcomed attendees at the beautiful Treehaus venue at UNO, bringing infinite vibes and delicious chops to the guests.
Numerous DJs played the best afrobeats, dancehall, soca, amapiano, and reggae tunes back to back. Starting at 12, as people gathered under the palm trees and the tropical setting of the venue, the smell of jerk chicken mingled in the air. On the menu was a choice of delicious Jamaican / Guyanese dishes: mouth-watering veg curry, tantalizing grilled fish and jerk chicken accompanied by fragrant rice & peas, and a zesty salad. Those present at the Afro Island boat BBQ last summer, like myself, knew they could not miss out on the Caribbean delicacies made by Odessa’s, the only authentic Caribbean caterer based here in Malta. Those wise enough ensured to secure their tickets asap, for the rest, if you were not there for all that deliciousness, your taste buds missed out!
The lineup was composed of talent from both event organisers. Afro Island flew out DNA to headline their bill and brought their favourite local DJ residents Veloso, Dado, Shay Who, and DJ M Funky, with the latter two giving us an epic B2B set. Reggae Brunch showed the local crowd how things go down in the UK bringing DJs Dean EG and Suave, and the phenomenal MCs Sillky, A Star, and Tubby.
The crowd looking bright, in their all-white attire, made the gathering almost look like a Sunday congregation, but some of the dance moves displayed were far from holy. The place got heated figuratively and literally as the party advanced. Many gyals came prepared, equipped with their hand fans to stay cool on the dance floor. Despite the heat, the energy was ecstatic, people socialized, danced, dutty whined, bruk it down, Willie bounced, signaled the plane and all. The beautiful smiles seen in every corner were proof of the enthusiasm and the good vibes of the people.
Among the guests was also Saga, one of season 6’s Big Brother Naija housemates, coming all the way from Lagos. During his time on the island, he showed us his take on Adekunle Gold’s TikTok challenge for his latest single Ogaranya. The video, which made more than half a million views on Instagram, featured clips of local partygoers dancing and singing along to the lyrics of the new song.
Once again music proved to be the language we all speak, helping bring together people from the African diaspora, the Caribbean, and Europe. As someone who has seen the island grow as a place where African and Caribbean music is increasingly being celebrated thanks to the recent festivals, it makes me shed a tear of joy, as this community of partygoers is becoming like a family. This was certainly a milestone for Afro Island and also foreshadows a more eventful future for the local party scene and talent.  As usual, it is a pleasure to see the unity of people celebrating music and culture, so if you don’t want to miss out, make sure to be ready on the 12th of August, which brings another eventful day with Pitch Malta and Afro Island.
What went down at the Afro Island x NOOK Afrobeats Pool PartyÂ
As Afrobeats finally started touching down across Europe, even Malta had to have a taste of what it means to celebrate this music genre. To make the magic happen, Afro Island and NOOK came together to throw their first Afrobeats pool party on the rock. The popular Med Asia Playa beach club provided the perfect place for partygoers to dance and vibe, as the scenery of the Mediterranean Sea complimented the tunes and beats of the talented DJs.
Tickets for next months event on Saturday 24th September headlined by Predz UK can be found here.
Behind the decks, a variety of local and international talents were present: DJ Shay Who and DJ M Funky representing Nigeria, DJ Daniel Veloso representing Netherlands and Urban Rockett representing Romania. Coming all the way from the UK, the international headline DJ and host for the night was DNA, who stepped on the island for his second time in recent months, after first performing as the official DJ at NOOK x PitchMalta.
On-site, various brands collaborated with the organizers to elevate and spice up the guest’s experience. Simpl provided their brand new hydration beverages to ensure that the partygoers remained hydrated during the dancing and alcohol of the night. Cake Club Clothing kitted out DJs & Staff, while one lucky giveaway winner got the chance to enjoy free shots throughout the entire night.
Starting off the day party at 2 PM, guests warmed up and chatted by the pool, while later Urban Rocket opened the set with a mix of Hip Hop and R&B. In the afternoon, as the sun set and the venue started to fill, DJ Funky and Shay Who teased our ears with Afrobeats and Amapiano hits. As the party got animated, people lined up and danced collectively to popular tunes like Master KG’s Jerusalema. When the night came, the dance floor got heated, and a beautiful blend of nationalities and cultures could be seen coming together for the love of Afrobeats.
Among the 500 attendees, both the familiar faces of locals and tourists could be seen. While buckets with bottles of spirits and Champagne flew from one table to another, many displayed their dance skills with their shakus, legwork, gwara gwaras, and amapiano steps. The gyaldem surely did not miss their opportunity to whine their waist as the different bashment and dancehall classics played on. The floor was spirited and those who came prepared to fight the heat were equipped with portable fans and hand towels, which soon became incorporated with the guest’s dance moves.
As the main party wrapped up at 2 AM, some headed home to rest up in preparation for the next day’s exclusive boat party, while DJ M Funky carried the music till 3 AM into an after party. The night ended as a success. Seeing people from all backgrounds gathering to share their passion and appreciation for afro-descendant music was a beautiful sight.
Afro Island has been launched to create a one-stop destination for the lovers of music coming from different parts of Africa and the diaspora. Choosing Malta as our launching place, has been done with the goal of raising awareness and to open up the Afro scene locally, while simultaneously benefiting the local talent in the field. With an end goal of all uniting together