Their story
Elijah Stone started the Zion Gate in 2008 after years singing in a church choir and playing guitar at yard parties in west Kingston. Their debut "Early Light" (2010) made them a favourite on early-morning radio, and "Bread and Water" (2013) and "Hands of the Morning" (2017) built a following across the Caribbean and the UK sound-system scene. Seven albums in, they remain a steady, faith-and-work roots band, now settled into the breakfast slot at Roots & Riddim.
The band
- Elijah Stone lead vocals, rhythm guitar
- Delroy Haynes bass
- Cecile Marsh keys, organ
- Winford Gray drums
- Maxine Tulloch backing vocals, percussion
Influences: Seventies roots reggae harmony groups, church choirs and hymn singing, dub engineers' spring-reverb experiments, Rastafari nyabinghi drumming