Sister Nancy & The Steady Rock Band

Sister Nancy’s “Bam Bam” has traveled so far beyond reggae that it can be easy to forget how radical the song was in its original context. At The Chapel, the Jamaican deejay gets to put that history back in the foreground, backed by The Steady Rock Band for a full live set. Nancy was the first woman to break through internationally in dancehall, and her place in the genre is bigger than one endlessly sampled track. Still, hearing “Bam Bam” in a room like this is reason enough to go, especially when the band can give the riddim more space than a recording ever could. The Friday night timing helps, too. This is an all-ages 9pm show, so younger fans can get a proper introduction to a foundational dancehall voice without the usual late-night club constraints.