Cover Drive gets boost from Rihanna

LONDON - Rihanna’s not just sitting pretty, enjoying her mega-successful career, she’s also lending a helping hand to other musical acts from Barbados.

She picked newcomers Cover Drive to back her at an Aug. 5 show for 20,000 in her homeland, which ensured strong notice for the newcomers. The group consists of bassist Jamar Harding, rapper/drummer T. Ray Armstrong, lead singer Amanda Reifer and guitarist Barry Hill.

The quartet is based in London and is scheduled to perform Aug. 29 during the Notting Hill Carnival.

They cited Rihanna as one of their key musical influences, along with the Black Eyed Peas, No Doubt and Bruno Mars.

“We are huge Rihanna fans, I mean massive, and when we found out we were going to open for her our brains melted,” Reifer said in the interview last week. “She was amazing, she’s really supportive.”

AP