Adrian Frater, News Editor

Western Bureau:

Dancehall star Busy Signal created musical ecstasy at Manning's School in Savanna-la-mar when he brought the curtains down on the 2009 Westmoreland Curry Festival with an exceptional performance.

Closing the show behind the likes of reigning Digicel Rising Stars winner Cameal Davis, Terry Linen and the 'Strong One', Etana, Busy spared none of his hits, much to the delight of the predominantly teenage crowd, which greeted each new song with deafening screams.

It was indeed a fitting end to the event, which showed that the mix of food, which ranged from traditional curried goat through to the more exotic curried mango, and music, which spanned the secular and the religious, was a winning combination.

Veteran reggae star Ken Boothe, who had to leave early to perform at Richie Stephens' Take Me Away showcase in New Kingston, gave a good mid-afternoon performance, belting out hits such as Ain't No Sunshine, Crying Over You, Freedom Street and This Train.

When Boothe departed, centre stage went silent as the patrons returned to feasting on the various curried meals and the children resumed playing.

However, as soon as the twilight began to make way for the colourful stage lights, music again took the spotlight with acts such as the award-winning Hatfield Cultural Group, the Manning's Gerreh Group and the Legend Dance Squad setting the pace for what was to come.

Prior to the musical performances, comedians Apache Chief and Sarge took patrons through a rib-tickling experience as they induced much laughter, poking fun at both themselves and the audience. The fun was taken to another level when Sarge did a brilliant job impersonating top deejay Bounty Killer, mastering his style, lyrics and general mannerisms.

When the charismatic Davis took the stage, she quickly took charge, delighting with songs such as Land of Love, Just Believe and Spotlight, which she shared with two little girls from the audience who all but matched her vocally.

Deejay Boomblast and Shane-O both delivered impressive cameos but Edge Michael, who is fast becoming Savanna-la-mar's pride and joy, really got the crowd humming as he delivered excellent renditions of his popular Deep River Woman and Delilah.

Terry Linen, who preceded Etana, promptly got the attention of the women as he was right on cue, reeling off Missing, No Time To Linger and Don't Be Shy. When Etana followed, she stamped her class with Meditation, Wrong Address, Warrior Love, Jah Jah Blessing and Not Afraid.

When the dynamic Busy Signal hit the stage to close the show shortly after 10:30 p.m., the artiste could do no wrong as each new song was greeted with a fresh bout of hysteria.