Music is a funny thing, different people use it in different ways, some to express themselves, some to stir old memories and some to just provide a momentary escape from life. Rapture went along to the Rise and Shine night at the Bull in Chichester to relax and enjoy some REAL Reggae!

Rise and Shine was started seven years ago by Trevor Leech. Growing up and listening to Bob Marley, Ijahman Levi, Jah Shakah and many more made Trevor realise that music or more importantly Reggae was the direction for him.

He finished his studies at art college and set out to experience life and explore the world. Travelling around Europe and Africa certainly gave him experience of life, but it also confirmed his beliefs where he discovered that music is its own culture which crosses the boundaries of age.

Travelling between Portugal and Gambia, Trevor slowly started to build communities based on a shared love and appreciation of reggae. With every visit he would meet like minded people that shared in his vision and started to create something a bit special. This is where Rise and Shine was born. Rise and Shine was created to give everyone the chance to enjoy and participate in the ‘reggae community

Rise and Shine is now going strong in Gambia and Portugal, where it not only has a huge following, but gives people the opportunity to establish themselves as singers and DJ’s. Trevor’s next mission is to build Rise and Shine in England. He already has a following in Brighton where he performs at the Concorde 2 where he has supported The Wailers, Junior Kelly, Zion Train and Love Grocer, but his base of operations is fast becoming Chichester. He has a regular line up at the Bull in Chichester on alternative Tuesday nights and a monthly all day Sunday session with Carribean barbeue. The next Sunday session will be held on 13th of July, so don't miss it!

Rapture went along to see Trevor and Rise and Shine on a Tuesday night. Tuesday night is normally one of the quieter nights, but the Bull was wall to wall with a huge mix of people. It’s easy to scoff when someone says it ‘breaks down barriers’ but the mix of people enjoying the night was huge. What made it particularly enjoyable was the fact that everyone was relaxed. When you get that many people in a place its easy for a few morons to take offence and start problems.

The Bull was full of people relaxed, laid back and just enjoying the music and atmosphere as the night rolled on. One of the attractions of Reggae is that it doesn’t really matter who you were or where you came from, Reggae just opens the doors on meeting new faces and people. The music itself was spun well, everything flowed and the sets found their own highs and lows. DJ’s have a hard task at times to match the music to the moment, you get the set wrong and play a tune out of place and it destroys the atmosphere. Rise and Shine’s night was perfection. Everyone had fun, and everyone went away happy.