There aren’t many musicians that get the opportunity to play in front of 10,000 people.

But that’s what happened to Cheltenham-based musician Kingsley Salmon earlier this year when he performed at one of Europe’s biggest reggae festivals.

Kingsley is a rising star in the reggae world and was invited to perform at the Rototom Sunsplash Reggae Festival in Benicassim this August, a performance he calls ‘the best gig of my career’.

He said: “It’s been a mad year, I’ve done plenty of travelling and have played at some incredible places.

“To be asked to play at the festival over in Spain was a real honour. It’s so warm in the afternoon out there that the organisers of the festival don’t bother booking any artists to play during the day time. The first set got underway at 10pm and we were booked to perform at 5:45am. I was supporting an amazing reggae artist called Rafeelya.

“We all thought there would be no one to watch us at that time of day but there were 10,000 people there. I don’t get to play in front of crowds like that all too often! I’ve played outside gigs before when the sun is setting but not when it is rising, that was a first. It was an incredible experience, one I’ll remember for the rest of my life.

“I was really nervous but as soon as I got on stage I just started singing and I felt fine. Playing a venue like that was a dream come true.”

Kingsley has been a passionate reggae fan for many years, though he admits it wasn’t a genre of music he enjoyed for a long period.

He continued: “Reggae music has always been a part of my life. My Dad would play it 24 hours a day. I actually hated reggae music for most of my childhood, it wasn’t until I was in my teenage years that I started to appreciate it.

“When I was very young I found a one string guitar in a cupboard at home. I spent years playing it and thought I was really good, but I had no idea about music really. I then joined an indie band, we did a battle of the bands and ended up coming second from last, we weren’t great to be honest.

“As things developed I was really getting into learning the guitar and I was playing in a few local bands. From there my style has developed.

“I suppose one of the key moments came when Dad took me to a reggae festival. I saw my first reggae band and thought it was the kind of music that I’d like to get involved with.

“I decided to start my own reggae band called King Solomon. Hardly anyone in the band knew how to play reggae music, it was really cool to see how everyone progressed. We had some amazing times together and got to play at some great venues.”

Living in Cheltenham has been a real benefit to Kingsley’s music career as the town is home to his favourite performance venue.

He continued: “I love playing at The Frog and Fiddle. I know all the guys there, they’re doing a great job of promoting local artists. Whenever I’ve played there the crowds have always been quite lively which is always a bonus. They host a lot of rock bands, so I think the fact that I’m coming from a completely different musical angle is a good thing.”

Some musicians would be more than content having played to thousands of people, but Kingsley is keen to build on the success of 2018 and has ambitious plans for the future.

He added: “I’ve got my sights set on Europe, there’s a load of very good reggae festivals that I’d love to play at. We only get one life, I want to pack in as much as I can.”