In 2016, as a first-year student, Eshtemoh Morgan — Esh, for short — was studying vocal and guitar performance in the School of Music with big dreams of stardom.

A decade later, on the evening of July 31, he took the stage at Reggae Land 2026’s Milton Keynes National Bowl in the United Kingdom and received a huge taste of what it’s like to wear such a crown. Reggae Land, a three-day event, is officially touted as the “UK’s largest reggae, dancehall and sound system festival,” historically featuring more than 120 artists across seven stages.

With lights squarely on him, as well as the eyes and ears of some 50,000 spectators, Morgan was one of those artists, solo on stage performing The A Team, a 2011 song debuted by English singer Ed Sheeran. All those years ago, the song launched Sheeran into global acclaim.

Esh Morgan, his time finally having arrived, was hoping for the same. Almost in an instant, he could feel the adoration.

“It was amazing!” Morgan ’20 described via email the following day. “As we were driving to the venue in the evening, I saw the massive crowd on the hill and almost cursed in front of my dad, uncle and aunt! That language is not so tolerated with the elders, but it was an acceptable response, as I realized I was about to perform in the front the largest crowd I’ve ever been in front of.”

Morgan comes from a lengthy line of musicians, including his father, Mojo Morgan, a member of the Grammy Award-winning Morgan Heritage. Also including uncles, the group won for Best Reggae Album (Strictly Roots) in 2015. His grandfather was acclaimed Jamaican-born reggae artist Denroy Morgan. Still thriving, Morgan Heritage uses the title “Royal Family of Reggae.”

Esh Morgan has toured with them. This time, however, his performance and subsequent midnight single release of The A Team represented his own long-awaited launch. His words: “The performance went by quick, to be honest, but I think it’s because I’ve prepared so much for that moment that I left everything to muscle memory! It makes me hungry for the next performance, whether it’s 50 people or 50,000.”

On this night near London, the distance from performing at Stetson’s Uncouth Hour and Hatter Saturday on campus, or helping to celebrate Values Day at Lee Chapel seemed more like a million miles away. Yet, self-described as an alternative singer-songwriter — with a folksy and soulful blend of rhythm and blues — he labels his Stetson education as “monumental.”

“It was the first time I had perceived guitar lessons on a weekly basis, first time I got voice lessons on a weekly basis, and I really learned about being a musician,” Morgan said. “… I was able to apply a lot of what I learned to learning chords, writing melodies, song structure, a lot of stuff that I learned in class. I always had the mindset of applying it to being a singer-songwriter.”

Now, Morgan is continuing his “journey” as a measured man on a determined mission.

“There really is no such thing as an overnight success,” he explained. “And if you are an overnight success, you’re looking at maybe 15 minutes of fame that you might have a hard time holding onto because you’re just trying to find yourself. But I’ve been spending the last 10 years doing that.”

So, what now?

“I’ve been pushing to get my music on all of the streaming platforms sooner than this, but I’ve had to be patient,” he said, adding there is ongoing work on a first album. “I’ve had to wait for the right moment.”

The right moment came, and the reviews were richly rewarding.

“I’m happy to have presented myself so well as the third generation of my musical family,” he concluded. “There is so much more to work to be done and goals to be achieved, but after the performance I was filled with gratitude and relief of finally taking the step of releasing music as a professional recording artist. … The next song will have my name and be a song that I wrote. So, the next step will definitely feel even better!”

-Michael Candelaria