As rocksteady, reggae and dancehall music came together on one stage at the Jamalco Sports Club in Clarendon on Saturday night when Big Ship presented 'Rocksteady Meets Reggae and Dancehall,' it was obvious that rocksteady and reggae were not a thing of the past, as they held their own with dancehall.
By far, it was singer Beres Hammond and deejay Beenie Man who stole the show. John Holt, Marcia Griffiths, Ernie Smith, Tarrus Riley and Freddie McGregor also gave excellent performances.
Periodic rainfall, a disorganised, stage line-up, lengthy band changes, and a small crowd were the drawbacks to an otherwise inventive event. A band change from Lloyd Parkes and We The People Band to dancehall outfit Ruff Kutt was announced at about 2:30 a.m. It was said that Ruff Kutt had a flight to catch at 6:30 a.m. This led to rushed, albeit some of them good performances by the dancehall acts who had rehearsed with Ruff Kutt.
It was a long night for those who got to the venue for the 8 p.m. start time, as the big acts didn't grace the stage until well into the night. Acts such as Bungo Herman and Carl Dawkins got a decent response, as did the smooth deliveries of Ernie Smith, which had the crowd meditating on Life Is Just for Living, Tears On My Pillow and others.
Marcia Griffiths did a good job as the only female in the reggae segment. But it was Beres Hammond who caused a mass movement towards the stage from all ends of the venue. Hammond gave an electrifying performance with a slew of hit songs. He even deejayed for Buju Banton in their collaboration I'm Gonna Do My Best. After a 30-minute set, the crowd still wanted more Hammond, but Ruff Kutt band had a prior engagement and the reggae segment was cut short to allow the dancehall artistes to take centerstage.
Vybz Kartel and the Empire, Elephant Man and TNT were noticeably missing from the dancehall segment. However, Laden and Chino represented well for the Big Ship with forwards for songs such as Time to Shine from Laden, who hurried through his set, and Never Changed from Chino.