Montego Bay Jerk Festival brings the heat!

The Gleaner-sponsored MoBay Jerk Festival is slated to stimulate the entertainment appetites of patrons in western Jamaica, with the help of Chris Martin and the newly crowned Magnum King Hurricane at the Catherine Hall Entertainment Centre, come Monday, August 1.

The 'Paper Loving' reggae sensation will headline the festival, something the event organiser is pleased about. "This is our second staging of MoBay Jerk Festival, and last year, we had I-Octane, and that was amazing. So this year we wanted to have Chris Martin because Montego Bay loves him and we are grateful for the opportunity to have him as part of the line-up," Kim Lindo said. She further added that with the immense popularity of the Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall contestants, they had to include this year's winner, Hurricane, and finalists Specialist and Yabalisious, along with the popular Tanto Blacks to enhance the mix of new and experienced talents on the stage. "We want to be able to provide a platform for upcoming musicians to showcase their talents and show their range. This is a family event which will help them to tailor the craft accordingly, while entertaining their fans. Specialist has a new single out, so does Tanto Blacks and Hurricane, so it will be interesting for patrons to see what they have in store for them," the enthused event organiser stated.

Operating under the theme 'Bring Back the Culture', the MoBay Jerk Festival will see elements of cultural traditions such as Jonkonno, drumming and dances that are reminiscent of 'old time Jamaica'. The day and night family event will also see fast-raising dancehall star T'Nez performing, in addition to Nazine and gospel artistes Omari and Jabez. Montego Bay's own Quata Blann is set to make an appearance at the event. Dancing Dynamites' Target Dancers are also booked to appear at the festival. With family events few in Montego Bay for the summer, the organisers of MoBay Jerk Festival wanted to fill that void and, as such, Lindo outlined that "Tickets are $500 for adults and $200 for children, available at all Digicel stores in Montego Bay. We made the event affordable so that persons can come out and enjoy a nice Emancipation Day culinary and entertainment event that is not taxing on their pockets."

Courtesy of Jamaica Gleaner