Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

Normally the 'surprise guest artiste' tag on a concert poster tells the potential audience two things. The 'surprise' might not turn up at all and, if it does, chances are while he or she might not be unwelcome it won't be a surprise that will bowl the audience over.

After all, the prospect of a 'surprise guest artiste' does not tempt even one person to leave home in his or her finest and shell out hard-earned cash at the ticket booth.

However, on Sunday, December 28, it is expected (with about the same level of confidence as someone predicting Usain Bolt will win the next 100m race he runs) that the National Stadium's grandstand and seats on parts of the cycle and athletics track will be filled with persons who have turned out to see many a 'surprise guest artiste'. This is even though there is no such slot in the advertisements for 'A Moment in Time'.

Apart from Hammond, whose 'Moment' it is, the only other performer whom the public knows about is John Holt - and that information came only via a slip of the tongue at Tuesday's launch event, held at Harmony House, Burlington Avenue, St Andrew. There, Martin Lewis of TEAM Solutions gave a broad hint, referring to a Hammond hit, Rock Away.

Mood of the event

He suggested that persons can use the song as a general guide to the mood of the event, saying "Beres will present some of his favourite music and his favourite artistes from Jamaica and abroad".

Speaking with The Sunday Gleaner, Robert Chantrelle of TEAM Solutions said, "We expect that we should get as good a turnout as last year."

Of course, there is the expansive appeal that Beres Hammond has. "It is amazing the kind of broad-based support that Beres has," Chantrelle said. "Even I, who work with him, am often surprised at the broad-based appeal he has," Chantrelle said, noting that it cuts across ages and genders. It doesn't hurt that "Beres performs in Jamaica once a year and the Jamaican crowd is looking forward to seeing him. There are quite a few undercurrents ... ."

There is a certain confidence in precedence as well. When the same approach was taken last year, Buju Banton, U-Roy, Jah Youth, Marcia Griffiths and Dean Fraser were superb surprises for a full National Indoor Sports Centre, with all seats taken, many standing and quite a few (Chantrelle estimates 300 to 400 people) turned away.

At Tuesday's launch, deejay U-Roy said when 'A Moment in Time' was announced last year, because of the price "some people sey who, a him an him family alone a go deh deh. Well, dis man have de bigges' family".

Prices remain the same

The prices remain the same this year, $4,000 for regular seating (grandstand, with a capacity of 5,500) and $6,000 for the VIP section (1,500 to 2,000 seats on part of the cycle and athletics tracks). Tickets have just gone on sale and, if everything goes according to plan, there will be no tickets on sale at the National Stadium on the 'momentous' day, as Chantrelle said "we expect we will get a little bit more this year than last year". He made it clear that the venue will not be oversold.

Chantrelle said that once the decision had been made to do 'Moment in Time' (which was supposed to be a one-off event) again, the intention has been to make it different from the first time around.

However, there are some things which will remain constant and the focus on an experience is one of them, along with the connections it will spark, some of them great surprises to anticipate. As Hammond told The Sunday Gleaner, "I always believe that people need good entertainment and good moments together. The event is not just about coming to watch some artistes perform, but for me it is also a moment when certain folks who haven't seen certain folks for a long time can get a chance to embrace again and say 'wow'."