Shakera Barnett (left) and Tahir Thompson, who emerged as the 2009 St James 4-H queen and king, respectively, at Monday's Nyammins and Jammins Food Festival at the Catherine Hall Entertainment Centre in Montego Bay.
Western Bureau:
Similar to its previous stagings, the combination of food and music proved a big winner for the organisers of the annual Nyammins and Jammins Food Festival, as patrons were treated to a fabulous experience on Monday at the Catherine Hall Entertainment Centre in Montego Bay.
When reggae star Tarrus Riley brought the curtains down on the event at 10:45 p.m., he was not the only one soaked in perspiration, as so were the vast majority of the 15,000 dancing fans.
During the non-stop excitement, 12-year-old Tahir Thompson of Cornwall College and 14-year-old Shakira Barnett of Spot Valley High School were crowned the 2009 St James 4H King and Queen. They both won scholarships, courtesy of Tourism Product Development Company, among other prizes.
The musical segment turned out to be quite a blast with Riley, Chino, Digicel Rising Stars winner Brown Sugar, Princess Tia, gospel trailblazers Judy Mowatt and George Gordon all delivering impressive performances much to the delight of the adoring patrons.
'A robust set'
George Nooks, Gavinchi, Iyahblaze, the Dynamic Gospelaires and backing band Fab Five, which played quite a robust set laced with soca-flavoured music, also did pretty well, although at times the youthful members of the audience seemed somewhat bored with the unfamiliar songs.
Tarrus Riley's set, which was quite interactive, had his better-known hits and the audience was clearly impressed as each new song was greeted with a fresh bout of joyful screams. Songs such as Lion Paw, Contagious, Human Nature, Stay With You, She's Royal and Good Girl Gone Bad had the patrons in ecstasy.
Tarrus Riley hits cruise control during his performance at the 2009 Nyammins and Jammins Food Festival. - Photos by Adrian Frater
Brown sugar delivered
Brown Sugar, in her first major performance in Montego Bay since winning the Rising Stars title, was awesome. She looked every bit an established star as she combined sexiness and charisma in delighting with a string of cover versions to include songs like Roots, No Time to Linger, Guns Out and Hot Gal a Hot Gal.
Chino was a revelation, as he was quite masterful in the delivery of his catchy lyrics over some of the latest dancehall rhythms. The girls had a ball as he belted out songs like Fi Di Girl Dem, Never Gonna Leave, Bad Mind and Young Heart with complete authority.
George Gordon had his moments, especially when he used his nostrils to create incredible musical sounds, Judy Mowatt was easily the most potent of the gospel acts. She left no doubt about her class on songs such as Thank You Lord, More, Hear My Cry and Waiting.