One Road- Ariann Mieka

Months ago when I was laying out a schedule of performances for Verse iTal , one in particular had me very curious. This particular performance was going to be at the Pool Party Festival , in Antwerp Belgium. I was told it was a large boat completely decked out with a pool. As always, I assigned a picture to the description and so I thought maybe I was heading to a large multi deck ship, similar to the Trinidad party ship the Treasure Queen . “How would they layout a festival on that kind of vessel?” I wondered. On the morning of the performance, Verse and I left Den Haag early to head to Antwerp as he had a practice with the Asham Band first.   This time we travelled by train and not only was it more comfortable than the bus ride we took last time it was faster and way more interesting. Between reading, napping and gazing at the landscape through the window as it rolled by, the time passed quickly and within an hour and 50 minutes we arrived at the beautiful Antwerp Station.

As I bit into the vegetable roti , I knew it was going to be an amazing weekend! This Roti tasted authentic and as L informed us, it kinda was the real deal as this particular roti shop, Roopram Roti Restaurant, had a branch in Trinidad! There was even a branch where we lived in Den Haag, which I pondered happily as I chomped down on the flavourful treat! Verse iTal and I were currently in Amsterdam as he had two gigs there that weekend. L & D graciously offered to let us stay at their home and the roti’s L bought for us was just the beginning of their amazing hospitality. We ate quickly and headed down to “ Debalie ” where Yard Vibes was hosting a screening of a Jamaican film followed by an after party where Verse was set to perform. The event went well and we really enjoyed the documentary “ Journey to Jah ”, featuring reggae stars Gentleman and Alborosie .   Verse performed six tunes, which included his new song “ Want No Part .” The crowd enjoyed the songs and