Safe sex is sexy!
That was the prevailing theme of last Saturday’s Love, Poetry And Song concert.
Last year’s inaugural show got such an overwhelming public response that there was barely standing room at the Barbados Museum, prompting the shift this year to the spacious grounds of Ilaro Court.
However, last Saturday, even the rolling hills of the Prime Minister’s official residence looked cramped as Barbadians flocked in their hundreds to support a worthy cause and enjoy a night of entertainment.
And entertained they were, with a line-up of 26 acts that included DJ Simmons, the ladies of Honey Jam Barbados, Biggie Irie, Erika Alexei, Adrian Green, Daveny Ellis, Marissa Lindsay as well as international singer/songwriter Hal Linton.
Several of the performances were based on the theme of safe love. DJ Simmons performed a piece written specifically for the show entitled Hard, which focused on the hardships faced by young people today when making choices about sexual practices.
Nu Motion Dancers’ How Good Girls Go Bad told a cautionary tale of how abuse and other damaging social factors create an environment for the negative development of young women in society.
But one of the highlights of the night was a comedic skit by Peter Forde, Jeffrey Joseph and Robin Hope, members of Her Majesty’s Prisons Drama Group. This piece took the form of three friends talking about the exploits of one. It explored the dangers of multiple partners coupled with an aversion to condoms.
Erika Alexei’s cover of Sizzla’s Give Me A Try made couples snuggle closer together while consummate performer Biggie Irie had patrons dancing to hits like Ten Tonnes and Cyaan Be Ova.
Simon Pipe blessed the crowd with an unreleased song entitled Good Vibrations, while Marissa Lindsay brought Rhesa Garnes and Mandy Cummins onstage with her to perform an amazing version of Every Woman.
Enter headliner Linton. He managed to cram so much into a truncated set, including a little Bob Marley tribute, an acoustic session and a high-energy performance of his song Circle. One would be hard-pressed to find a better way to close off such a remarkable show.
Love, Poetry And Song was organized by the Barbados Government Information Service as a culmination of its Love Safely week and as a fund-raising effort for the Ministry of Health’s HIV/AIDS Food Bank.
