All set for Buju concert

The stage is all set, vendors are ready, and all systems will soon be in place for this week’s highly anticipated Barbados leg of Buju Banton’s Long Walk to Freedom Tour.

Last Thursday during a site visit by organisers and sponsors of the event, Adisa Aja Andwele, one of the organisers, spoke openly to those available on the progress the team had made in finalising plans for the big night.

“We are ready… and I am sure everyone here is more than excited for Buju [Banton] to perform for us next week. We are expecting a massive turn out,” Andwele said.

This year’s Reggae Festival, is slightly different from previous years in that their usual Farley Hill location is not being used this time around. Instead, Kensington Oval is hosting the premiere event of Buju’s concert on Saturday April 27, with the Mount Gay Vintage Reggae Show and Dance returning to the venue on April 30.

The VIP section will be a huge centrepiece for the concert this year, with various chefs coming in from Trinidad, Jamaica and elsewhere, to treat those patrons to an impressive and beautiful culinary experience.

Allison Hunte from FAS7STAR Entertainment, was very pleased about the overseas interest in the festival, but also shared some disappointment in the lack of flights coming into the island for the event.

“We do know what the overseas impact has been; with the exception of not having any more flights, we do know what the impact has been. People who bought tickets [overseas] had to get a refund because they could not get the flights. Which is unfortunate, you would have thought the airlines would have made some accommodations [for the event]. They did however add new flights from the Caribbean which is very encouraging. Caribbean Airlines has a new direct flight to Barbados which also helps.”

Even with the lack of flights into the island, the team continues to be pleasantly surprised with the amount of repeat patrons who visit the island for the highly regarded Reggae weekend.

“We are pretty much on par with our usual festivals; in terms of general sales, we were hoping to see an increase in that but we are waiting to see how the weekend goes. What we found is that locals have not really started to buy. They are last minute people. So we can’t really gauge what the final attendance will be as yet,” Hunte said.

Even with the local ticket purchases not moving as quickly as they hoped, the team is expecting and bracing for a massive crowd for the upcoming main event. For the team, Kensington Oval will be a Fort Knox-type venue security-wise for the big show, so people can feel fully safe when they enter the grounds.