SIX FIRST-TIME Jamaican acts, including Tessanne Chin, are slated to be part of the 10th Digicel Barbados Reggae Festival; and Barbados’ favourite “uncle” Beres Hammond will return after a five-year break.
Sanchez, Frankie Paul and Admiral Bailey will share the stage with Fab 5 and John Holt for Vintage Reggae Show And Dance which comes off at Kensington Oval on Friday, April 25.
Lady Saw and Stone Love will make their debut appearances at the Reggae Beach Party along with repeat act Idonia on Monday, April 21 at Brandons beach.
On Sunday, April 27, the Hill will come alive with The Voice of Tessanne who will be giving her first major performance in a Caribbean country – outside of Jamaica – since her win last year. She will perform at the final event which culminates the festival with Uncle Beres and Chronixx, also a first-timer to the festival. This year will also see the return of Bajan Reggae Night.
In giving his feature address, Minister of Tourism Richard Sealy said that he was more than pleased with FAS’ efforts over the years and encouraged others to come up with ways of pushing tourism.
“Never underestimate how many people come to Barbados for this festival. FAS is offering a product to the world that shows progressive thinking and that is what we need in this country,” he said.
The minister said the Barbados Tourism Authority would continue to give support but however, he challenged the sponsors to give more.
“I would encourage the private sector to throw more money behind the festival,” he said.
Sealy thanked FAS for persevering with the events even in the face of economic and other adversity.
Al Gilkes of FAS Entertainment said they were pleased to be celebrating their 10th year of staging the event. Admitting it was not an easy task, Gilkes said the festival was glad for the support of its sponsors through the years.
He singled out title sponsors Digicel – who are also celebrating 10 years of providing service to Barbados – for their continued support. In giving brief remarks, chief executive officer of Digicel Barbados Mark Linehan said the partnership between the two was very rewarding.
He later presented Gilkes, Freddy Hill and Kathy-Ann Gilkes of FAS Entertainment with tokens of appreciation for their contributions. Al Gilkes is celebrating 50 years in the business of entertainment promotions while Hill is celebrating 20. (TTY)
