Whose name comes from son of God: Beam of Light
Born in Montego Bay, Jamaica on May 18th 1974, Singer, songwriter Sonbeam was named Carnel Campbell by his parents Gloria Samuels and Rennie Campbell.
Influenced by artistes such as Buju Banton, Pinchers and Cocoa Tea, Sonbeam dreamt of being a reggae artiste. He attended Montego Bay High School then went straight into performing, doing his first gigs in the early 90's. He eventually linked up with Boston based Reggae band dub station and released the album “Get it together” in 2002.
Reviews:
“There are not many singjays who combine singing and chatting skills at as high a level as Sonbeam” Jammin
Reggae Archives.Nice.com, 2002.
“(four stars) - a believable melding of ‘old school’ reggae with dancehall vocals Sonbeam rides the syncopated riddims effortlessly” - Marlon Regis & Chuck Foster, 2 issues of BEAT Magazine, 2002.
Sonbeam started his second project with the late Clement Coxson Dodd at Studio One until his untimely passing.
Sonbeam immigrated to the UK 2007, he met producer Noel Browne at NBM Recording Studio where he recorded and released 2 tracks Freedom and Plastic Smile in 2017. Sonbeam embraced spiritual knowledge in an effort to encourage others to learn about themselves, manifesting his spiritual growth in the songs he writes.
In Feb 2019 he performed at Macka B's Birthday show as the opening act. June 2019 performed at the Staff Festival in Stafford with his band Beam of Lights. Following the release of the 2 songs Freedom and Plastic Smile, Sonbeam went on to releasing an EP produced by the late Noel Brownie called Nothing They Can Do About it in 2019. Sonbeam has since released other songs Sunrise, Anything Me Touch, Surrender. Over the years, Sonbeam has performed at many festivals and shows around the UK and also in Kingston, Jamaica in 2022. Sonbeam has performed alongside artistes like Yellowman, Freddie McGregor, Eek a mouse, George Nooks, Errol Donkley, Morgan Heritage, Damian Marley.
Sonbeam has ongoing projects with producers, champs records, Newlife records and will be releasing new songs in the upcoming future. Sonbeam will also be releasing songs that he has been working on with guidance and support from the late Noel Browne and Browne brothers.
Quote from Sonbeam:
“I have a passion for music. I believe my music can help to heal the world and bring a positive change. We all have a part to play in life and I am playing mine.”