*** This weekend's cultural celebration honouring Dr. Clark Godwin and featuring Bermudian band Fires of Africa gave locals a good boost out of the mid-winter doldrums.

This expose, which featured only Bermudian artists and honoured local figures for their contributions to the community, spoke to every nationalistic bone in my body that appreciates the notion of "Bermuda for Bermudians''.

Although I'd heard that Mount Area Club was a serious place for hearing roots reggae, this was the first time I'd been to the club, which is located right by the lighthouse.

The atmosphere at Mount Area lent itself well to the all-Bermudian feel of the show. Like the performing musicians, everything about the whole vibe was culturally home-grown and uniquely Bermudian.

Even the lavatories are marked "Brothers'' and "Sisters'' instead of "Ladies'' and "Gents''.

Anyway, on with the show: Twanee, a young singer with a beautifully metered voice, showed a great deal of promise in her rendition of "The New Bermuda''.

And Ras Giorgis, who hasn't been particularly visible since releasing his album, gave a coolly understated performance that shifted everyone into an ultra mellow mood.

Ras Giorgis, who is notable for producing a unique sound that doesn't attempt to imitate all the usual Jamaican icons, is sounding smoother and roots-ier nowadays than he did on his album.

Ras Mykkal, "Bermuda's first governor'' and presumably first dub poet, faces a challenge unique to political wordsmiths -- what do you do after your song becomes dated as a result of political happenings, i.e. the general election and PLP victory? Ras Mykkal handled the dilemma well by introducing a few new stanzas into previously established songs to make them more in tune with recent events.

And whatever rough edges the poet may have, he's certainly a top contender for best stage presence by a Bermudian.

Fires of Africa gave a good, strong performance, singing a score of entirely original works. A particular favourite of mine is "Where You Gonna Run'', which really highlights the superb harmonising between backup singers Maxine and Maqdas.

After hearing the group during a practice session last week, I was particularly looking forward to their performance -- and I wasn't disappointed. With a little work on the keyboardist, this group is definitely international material.

The standout act for the evening came from Demeka (Tiny T). Although she too was a bit rough around the edges -- I don't quite think her performance style has fully matured -- Demeka gave the audience a shot of high-octane lyrics that had the most mellow members jump to their feet.

Her performance was rendered especially effective by the stark contrast between her melodic singing voice interspersed with staccato spoken word, accented only by a heavy Fires of Africa drumbeat.

Demeka has certainly come a long way as an artist, even since the last time I saw her on stage at the Beenie Man concert two years ago.

In addition to a hemp-wear fashion show performances by the Bermuda African Dance Company, there was an award ceremony for Dr. Clark Godwin who was presented with the "Fires of Africa Mazumbo Award'' for "advancing the Father's works''. My major criticism of the expose was the sound quality. I'm not sure whether the amplifying equipment or the acoustics of the club were to blame, but I found myself straining at times to catch the lyrics.

Fires of Africa were especially impressive for the way they handled the sound problems -- although the sound kept cutting on and off during their performance, they showed the talent of a true band and just went freestyle with the rhythm.

Basically, it was a good concert with good performers -- made even better by the fact that they were all our own.

Kim Dismont Robinson ART REVIEW ART ARTISTS ART