ZWA presents Dennis Bovell X Rebel Lion Sound System

Name: ZWA presents Dennis Bovell X Rebel Lion Sound System
Start: 2026-12-12T20:00:00+00:00
Location: Norwich Arts Centre

Sat 12 Dec 2026

Close-up portrait taken from a low, arm’s-length angle of a person outdoors under a clear blue sky. The person wears a light-coloured baseball cap and a bold patterned shirt featuring black, white, orange, and red geometric designs. A full white beard dominates the lower half of the face. The image is tightly cropped, with the person looking directly into the camera and filling most of the frame.

This event is part of ZWA, a series of music & spoken word events taking place across three days and two Norwich venues. ZWA has been lovingly curated and delivered by Norfolk-based production project innate creates.

Dennis Bovell

Dennis Bovell has earned himself the reputation of being Britain’s Reggae Maestro, from pioneering early developments in the genre over 40 years ago to producing classic hits. He is renowned as an accomplished multi- instrumentalist (playing guitar, bass and keyboards), sound engineer, composer, band leader and producer and continues to lead the UK scene with innovative and adventurous music.

Born in Barbados in 1953, Dennis Bovell joined his parents in London when he was twelve. Whilst still at school Bovell joined his first band, Road Works Ahead, before forming the group Stonehenge. Influenced by rocksteady, this band gave birth to the three-part harmony section that was later to become the trademark of Bovell’s next group, Matumbi, formed in 1970. Matumbi (meaning ‘reborn’ in Yoruba) were to become Britain’s premier reggae band at a time when the genre was spreading from Jamaica to a wider international audience. After a period backing visiting Jamaican artists such as Pat Kelly and Ken Booth, the band enhanced their reputation further with a string of successful singles. After Tonight, the band’s first hit, is to this day played on continuous rewind in the Revival Hall of Fame and another single, The Man In Me is regarded as a British reggae classic. In 1979 Matumbi reached the UK Top Ten charts with Point of View. Altogether the band made four albums for EMI.

At the same time Bovell was building his formidable reputation as a musician, producer and sound engineer, collaborating with great artists including I Roy, Steel Pulse, Errol Dunkley and Johnny Clarke. After leaving Matumbi, Bovell continued to diversify his musical talents. He produced Janet Kay’s huge hit Silly Games, which reached number two in the UK charts in 1979 and opened his own recording facility Studio 80. Dennis Bovell is one of the founders of the Lovers Rock genre and he recorded a host of artists such as Marie Pierre, Paul Dawkins, Trevor Hartley, Louisa Mark and more. Bovell also formed the Dub Band, beginning an enduring partnership with reggae poet Linton Kwesi Johnson which has resulted in classic albums including Forces of Victory (1979), Bass Culture (1980), Tings An’ Times (1991) and LKJ in Dub: Volumes One and Two (1981, 1992).

Rebel Lion Sound System

Rebel Lion Sound System is a reggae, roots and dub sound system that has been running for almost three decades. Founded and operated by brothers Simon (aka Siman Reality), Tim (aka Maka T) and Finbarr (aka Militant Man), the sound system has become an absolute cornerstone of the reggae, roots, and culture scene in the eastern region and beyond.

Rebel Lion Sound System are known for their heavy custom speaker stacks, community dance sessions, and collaborations with heavyweight selectors and vocalists.