Tarrus Riley performed an hour of hits.
Amanda Reifer, lead singer of the band Cover Drive.
A section of the massive audience at the Hennessy Artistry show at the Kensington Oval.
Mixed emotions at Hennessy Artistry
Tue, 12/06/2016 - 12:00am
THOUSANDS of music lovers made their way to Kensington Oval on Saturday for the annual FAS7Star Hennessy Artistry, and they left with a mixed bag of emotions.
Local artistes Cover Drive, Don Trent and Marvay warmed up the stage for the first headline artist Tarrus Riley, who made his way to the stage at 11:55 p.m. and went through his impressive list of hits including “Sorry is a Sorry Word”, “Likkle One Drop” and the crowd-favourite “She’s Royal”.
He paved the way for international singer and rapper Lauryn Hill, who appeared on the stage without any introduction from the emcees to the surprise of the massive crowd. The audience, many of whom were expecting the songbird to replicate the exact sound on her 1998 Miseducation of Lauryn Hill album and her hits with the Fugees, expressed disappointment with the new rearranged version, which infused elements of rock.
Others were totally star-struck and could be seen screaming with excitement and singing her hits word for word. For 55 minutes she belted out favourites such as “Why it Hurts So Bad”, “Everything is Everything”, “Forgive Them”, “Lost Ones”, “Ooh La La La”, “Ready or Not”, “Killing Me Softly” and ended with “That Thing”. During her set she constantly complained about quality of the sound, asking the sound engineer to fix the problem.
Rodney Prince, aka Bounty Killer, came on stage at 2:50 a.m., sending the crowd into a frenzy, but also complained about the technical difficulties being experienced with the sound. In a strange twist of events for many who know their history, 15 minutes later, the unmistakable voice of Moses Davis, aka Beenie Man, could be heard during Bounty’s set.
The crowd was not prepared to see or hear these two dance hall enemies on the same stage at the same time, but enjoyed every minute of this war of songs, albeit brief. The King of the Dance Hall, who squeezed in several hits during his shortened performance, later expressed disappointment that he was unable to give the audience his full set in light of the island’s 50th anniversary of Independence celebrations.
Organisers attributed the abrupt end and shortened performances to unexpected delays on the night. (JH)