Cape Cod loves reggae music. This summer alone at Payomet we are welcoming Third World, Beres Hammond, and The Wailers to our tent — three major reggae acts. Locals know that this is one of many rich aspects of Jamaican culture that have been gifted to the Cape by its Jamaican residents, who have long come here to live and work. But how did this cultural exchange begin? The answer is complicated.

The long connection between the Cape and Jamaica can largely be attributed to their many similarities. Both English colonies at one point or another, the two were deeply connected by trade and a disturbing legacy of slavery. Enslaved men and women, as well as Jamaica’s rich supplies of sugar products, were regularly sent up North to New England. In return, Cape fishermen would supply smoked fish to Jamaica, which would serve as cheap meals for those working in the sugarcane fields.

However, by the latter half of the nineteenth century, slavery had been abolished by England, and the Jamaican sugar industry had more or less collapsed. But a businessman from Wellfleet named Lorenzo Dow Baker saw an opportunity in the Jamaican banana crop, which was at the time obscure to most Americans. By convincing Jamaicans to plant bananas in large quantities in place of sugar, and convincing Americans that the banana was both delicious and nutritious — Baker and a number of other businessmen were able to solidify the banana as a major crop in the Americas.

At the same time, Jamaica and the Cape were both becoming large tourist destinations — especially for the wealthy. In 1902, Baker founded the Chequessett Inn in Wellfleet — and three years later in 1905, the Titchfield Hotel in Jamaica. Using the extra room on-board his banana ships, Baker brought tourists from the North down to Jamaica and brought Jamaican workers (who were already well-experienced in the service industry) up north to staff his inn and other businesses on the Cape.

In many ways, it seemed a perfect match. In addition to the aforementioned similarities, both Jamaica and the Cape shared a unique island culture and commitment to service-industry values. “People who work hard, play hard,” says David Wright of the Wellfleet Historical Society, who helped with much of the historical context for this piece. Perhaps it is that exact sentiment that unites working Cape Codders with their Jamaican counterparts.

Payomet’s Cirque by the Sea is an iconic staple of Outer Cape performing arts, bringing performances and instruction to Cape Codders and visitors throughout the summer. This year, the circus team has found a temporary home at the Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, where the group will run its usual Circus Camp and a brand new original circus performance, amidst ongoing construction at the Highland Center in North Truro.

This year’s show is called Roots! A Farm to Circus Show and touches on themes of sustainability in the food system. Program directors, Teddy Ment and Eleanor Getz say the idea came from their experience working on a regenerative organic farm in California, where they would work twelve-hour days driving back and forth to Hollywood markets to sell local produce. Teddy describes the farm as an “incredible ecosystem” which inspired her and Eleanor to come up with the concept for Roots.

But sustainability is also a hot topic in a fragile ecosystem such as the Cape. Rand Burkert, a local expert, works to educate gardeners and agriculturalists on how to foster a healthy relationship with nature, embracing the philosophy of permaculture — which seeks to mimic the dynamics of natural ecosystems within human-made farms and gardens.

He says that the Cape’s unique soil presents some challenges to farmers: Because of its sandy composition, water drains right through the soil, making it necessary to combine compost and humus (decayed organic material full of nutrients) into the soil to give it an ideal mix for planting. “Permaculture is not only an approach to planting,” he says, “it’s a whole vision of sustainable life.”

Of the radio stations that operate within Barnstable County, an increasing number are owned by some of the same companies. 99.9 the Q, Koffee FM, Pixy 103, and Y101 are owned by Steve Chessare of Coxswain Communications; and Cool 102, 106 WCOD, and WEII Sports Radio, are all owned by the national corporation iHeartMedia — which owns more than 800 stations nationwide.

This kind of highly-commercialized broadcasting has its advantages, but it also has the tendency to sound a little bit homogenized and sterile. But in the world of radio today — diversity and authenticity are critical in order to keep the medium relevant and influential for years to come.

That’s where WOMR comes in. A community radio station based out of Provincetown, WOMR boasts a roster of 80 or more active volunteer-DJs, according to executive director John Braden. The wide variety of shows that populate the station’s calendar (which Braden lovingly calls a “patchwork”) range from “WOMR Opera House” to “Ukulele Diva” to “The Thump ‘n Soul” and beyond. There are few musical genres that are not covered in some capacity by their programming.

Braden says the non-profit station struggled to pay its bills for a number of years after its first broadcast aired in 1982, but thanks to a second transmitter in Orleans that was built in 2010 and dramatically widened the organization’s reach, increasing volunteer activity and general listenership. And while commercial radio struggles to sustain its largely ad-based business model, WOMR’s “hyperlocal” community-focused approach has made the station a tremendous success, even against a changing media landscape.

“Some of these bigger stations [get their music] from a subscription service…” Braden explains, “The announcements aren’t necessarily live — they were probably recorded earlier in the day… The chances of talking about more local issues [are] diminished at that point.” For him, community radio means programming that addresses the needs of the community — whether it be a specific type of music, an update about a traffic jam on Route 6, or an announcement about a lost cat. “Nobody tells the DJs what to play or the spoken-word people what to focus on”, he says.

Community radio offers a radically different experience from anything else on the airwaves. And while you might not always find exactly what you were looking for, you can be sure that you will always receive authentic, passionate, and unique programming from this local treasure. At 92.1 on the Outer Cape and 91.3 through Orleans and beyond, WOMR invites you to discover something new and connect with the Cape’s vibrant musical community.

As part of the Payomet Road Show series, Payomet presents a star-studded lineup of performances in Provincetown this summer. Each of these shows promises a unique and fun-filled evening of artistic magnitude.

Mourning [A] BLKstar will kick off this series on July 22 at 7pm at the Provincetown Town Hall. The Afrofuturist group melds hip-hop production with live performance, creating an experimental and bold sound dedicated to illuminating the African Diaspora. The second show features Aimee Mann, who is praised for her impeccable story-telling ability within beautifully crafted lyrics. Come see this Grammy award winning singer-songwriter at Provincetown Town Hall on July 26 at 7pm. The legendary and hilarious Sandra Bernhard concludes the series at the Provincetown Town Hall in her show “Spring Affair”, a wild world of stories, songs, and laughs, on July 28 at 8pm.

However, the Payomet in Provincetown series does not end there! Toussaint the Liberator will also play a FREE show at the Provincelands Amphitheater on August 6, showcasing his deep gospel roots alongside his masterful skills on the djembe.

“We love the tent in Truro, it’s our home,” says director of marketing Lara Henry, “but we also love taking shows on the road– particularly to Provincetown.”

Tickets for these shows are available to purchase here.

At the end of last year’s season, a lot of people asked me “What was your favorite concert?” I would respond, hands down, “Dakha Brakha!” If the person asking happened to be at that show last summer, they nod excitedly and confirm the same. No Question. Dakha Brakha was a musical and visual experience for all the senses.

This band is the real thing -- coming direct to you from their hometown of Kyiv, Ukraine. They bring it all -- unbelievable music, a mix of wild folk and rock, native costumes and spectacular performance. They call it “ethno-chaos” but those who saw them last year (or at another venue on their international tour) might liken their concert to ecstasy. From a country bursting with bombs, they burst instead with passion and artistry. It’s a show to behold, one you’ll remember not just through the winter, but for the rest of your life.

On a personal note, I have to add that it’s my great fortune to have had several Ukrainian professors at Boston University, the University of Leningrad, and in grad school at the University of Michigan. There, and since, I’ve developed a great respect for their unique language and literature.

It’s interesting to note that the root of the word “zelen” in Ukrainian means “green.” Kyiv is known as the “City of Green’’ because of its many parks. And, yeah, Zelensky wears green-- a guy who was first mocked as a comedian president, but who has grown on us, and the world.

Another note, language-wise: “Dakha Brakha” means “Give/Take” in Ukrainian. Come to their show on Monday, July 17 and watch what they Give us... and be thrilled at what you Take home.

DakhaBrakha played at the Payomet tent on Monday, July 17th.

Kevin Rice is an award-winning playwright, director, and actor -- and has been the Exectuive Director of Payomet Performing Arts Center since 2008.

Throughout the cultures of West Africa (where I lived for two and a half years as a volunteer with the Peace Corps), there exists the ancient tradition of the ‘griot’, individuals from an ancient and hereditary lineage of musicians, storytellers and praise singers who serve as the keeper of story, history and genealogy for the local community. Among the Mande ethnic group, the griot tradition is associated with the playing of the kora, an instrument with 21 strings and a taut calf skin stretched over a large spherical gourd that traces its ancestry back to the Mandinka empire of the 13th century. When played in the traditional style of plucking syncopated patterns with both hands it can remind one of the delta blues guitar tradition, which itself can be traced back to West Africa. Traditionally, the instrument has been played only by men.

Sona Jobarteh’s mother is English, and her father is Gambian from one of the well known Mande griot families. As a child, she was encouraged by her grandmother to sit with her grandfather and listen to him play the kora where, enveloped by the warmth of her extended family, she found her “cultural grounding.” Breaking with the tradition which said only men could play the kora, she began seriously studying the instrument. Now widely recognized as the first professional woman kora virtuoso coming from the great West African dynasties, she has achieved recognition for her playing, her voice, and her stage presence. She has performed at some of the world’s most renowned venues including the Hollywood Bowl in LA and Symphony Space in New York City. Over 10 million viewers on YouTube have discovered the gorgeous cascading sets of melody notes from her kora that blend with the polyrhythms of the djembe and talking drum which, along with her clear velvet singing voice, combine to create a profoundly beautiful and infectious groove.

Sona’s music also spreads a humanitarian message on topics including gender empowerment and the importance of education. Her social commitments extend beyond her music; she has spoken at the WHO and at UN Summits, and has established a model school in the Gambia where students can learn in their native language and celebrate their native African culture, history and traditions as an alternative to the post-colonial curricula.

Master of the West African kora, Sona Jobarteh is coming to the Payomet tent on Thursday, July 27.

Paul Greenspan lives in Wellfleet and is the host, as DJ Pablo, of the Global Groove radio show on WOMR featuring music of Africa and the diaspora on the 1st and 3rd Fridays of each month. He is a member of the Wellfleet Porchfest committee and plays around the outer cape with his band Rising Tide.

I arrived at the tent this morning and was greeted by James – our Production Manager. He instructed me to drive up to Provincetown with some other interns, Ella and Wyatt. I’m a music major getting experience with running sound and other aspects of live shows, Ella is an international studies major, and Wyatt is a communications major. We gathered in my car and made our way up. The task: dropping off rack cards to local businesses to advertise Payomet’s shows this year. We had a lot of fun talking and getting to know each other while we delivered the cards. At Payomet, you never know what’s going to be asked of you, so me and my coworkers have done a variety of tasks including digging trenches, data analysis, and running a booth at the Wellfleet farmers market together. The variety is what I love about Payomet, never a dull day working here, I’ve learned a lot of random skills I would never think to try on my own.

About the Truro Tent

The Truro Tent is a semi-regular newspaper presented by Payomet Performing Arts Center, available both in print (at select locations) and online. The Tent seeks to provide behind-the-scenes insight into the workings of one of Cape Cod's major performing arts venues, as well as to shed light on the things we value and care about in our Outer-Cape community. The Tent is supported by the generosity of Payomet's incredible donors and sponsors in the community. Learn how you can support the arts on Cape Cod here.