Music has always been a part of Pato Banton’s life. As an eight year old, he served as a“bodyguard” which consisted of opening and closing the door to his stepfather’s parties. Now he is opening the Longmont Summer Concert Series.
Banton’s stepfather was a DJ. Working alongside his stepdad, Banton formed a deep passion for music by age 11. At 12 years old, he picked up a microphone and began to sing.
“Then I got on the microphone when I was about 12, and I am still on the microphone now,” Banton said.
Beginning as most musicians do, he started by performing covers or imitating what he heard. Everything changed when his high school hosted a poetry competition.
“I thought to myself, I love music and I love writing, let me see if I can put both of them together and write my own songs, and I did,” Banton said.
Winning the poetry contest inspired him to seek out more competitions, including the biggest city MC competition where he was named the winner seven years in a row.
Wanting to continue to grow his music career, Banton was ready to move on from local competitions.
“Okay I’ve done this locally now in my own city, and now it's time to take this nationally. That’s when I went out to London and started to sign with record labels,” Banton said.
Although he signed with several labels, none released his music. This led him to release his own song without a record label with Don Christie, who owned a record store in Birmingham.
“He released the single and it became a big hit in the UK and as soon as I had my first hit in the UK, all the labels started releasing my records. So I had five or six songs on the charts at the time,” Banton said.
Reggae music is the foundation of Banton’s music. He layers other genres like hip-hop and rock on top of a reggae sound to make the unique music he performs today.
Banton has never performed at the Downtown Summer concert series, but he is excited to come to Colorado after being so warmly welcomed to the event.
“The promoters from the Longmont Concert Series have been so welcoming to me and they have shown me so much enthusiasm to have me there. If the promoters are feeling that way, then I feel excited for what the people in the community are going to show,” Banton said.
Banton has received Facebook messages from fans all over Colorado telling him how excited they are to see him in concert.
Fans, friends and family are the foundation Banton has built his musical career on, he said. At the end of each of his concerts he invites everyone to join in a prayer circle to solidify that foundation.
“It’s a very beautiful thing when you see a Muslim fan, a Christian fan, a Jewish fan, a rasta, and sometimes even atheisct fans all holding hands and praying together,” Banton said.
