Ellaina Joseph of Fond Baron Loubiere professionally known as LYRQ (ly-ric) is no stranger to the bright lights or success within the global music industry. In 2019, Joseph wrote, vocally produced and even provided her background vocals on three (3) songs, “You Like That”, “Cheetah” and “Part of the Plan” from Chris Brown’s multi-platinum album entitled Indigo. Now, 5 years later, LYRQ has taken her talents back to her artist and performance roots and traveled to London to open up for Bob Marley’s grandson, Skip Marley.
The sold-out show (8/14) was not only Marley’s 1st headliner show in London but LYRQ’s first time performing in London, making the event truly special. While on stage, in true
Dominican fashion, LYRQ wore the Dominican flag proudly on her waist and was greeted with support and cheers by other fellow Dominicans in the audience.
During her brilliant 20-minute performance, Joseph sang passionately about her Dominican roots on songs like “West Indies” and praised her country’s recent Olympic Gold victory on “Brighter than the Sun”. Overall, LYRQ’s ability to captivate the audience with her strong vocals and catchy melodies instantly gained new fans.
As her last song “Are You The One” came to a close, LYRQ took time to thank Skip Marley for the amazing opportunity, as well as her family and best friends for their unwavering support and the London audience for being such a class act. She stated “Guys, this is my first international artist concert.
We don’t have as many concerts like this one back on my island. So Thank You for sharing space with me and giving me those beautiful smiles” As fate would have it, Joseph received this special opportunity to perform through her manifestations. While in between songs, the singer-songwriter stated “This was one of the biggest dreams of mine. By putting a comment on Skip’s (Marley’s) page, I was invited to open up for him tonight! So I am beyond the moon!” Joseph had previously stated that Marley was one of the artists she had added to a 2021 list that she’d wanted to work with and meet in person.
Following the show, LYRQ was praised by concertgoers and new fans alike, took pictures and even got the opportunity to converse with the show’s headliner, Marley about her performance, collaborations, and future shows.
When asked about how she felt after performing and meeting one of her current musical
inspirations, Joseph stated “The stage is a place that feels like home to me. It was nice to be reminded of that and have encouragement come from an artist that I essentially listen to every day. Skip’s kindness and invitation ignited the will in me to never give up on my dreams. While this is a full circle moment it’s still unbelievable, but I will undoubtedly keep working towards more unbelievable moments hopefully inspiring others to do the same.”