Cruise with a Cause rocks Montego Bay

Mark Titus, Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

The Urban Development Corporation's (UDC) Beach Park in Montego Bay was transformed into a sanctuary of praise on Wednesday evening, as PraiseFest Ministries' Cruise with a Cause rocked the coastline of Jamaica with brilliant performances from some of the biggest international gospel performers.

Like a spiritual tsunami, ironically on the first day of the start of the 2011 hurricane season, act after act saw the jam-packed venue - popularly known as Dump Up Beach - with an estimated crowd of some 25,000 worshippers, ignoring the intermittent showers and begging for more.

The performances of Donnie McClurkin, Hezekiah Walker, Casting Crowns, David and Tamela Mann, Tye Tribbett and Papa San will be on the lips of everyone for a while. The musical deliveries were interspersed with messages of hope and salvation from world-renowned preachers, including Jentezen Franklin, Pastor John Hagee, Bishop Paul Morton and Minister Josh McDowell.

Paul Dobson opened the eight hour-long event with a plea for God to Open the Heavens, Anthony Evans, former member of Kirk Franklin and The Family, glorified the creator with Here I Am To Worship and How Great Thou Art, while contemporary gospel artiste Ayiesha Woods sought to identify herself with the Jamaican populace with calypso and reggae renditions.

crabb family encore

Veteran singer Russ Taff sang Somebody Is Coming; while Southern gospel group The Crabb family encouraged those in attendance to Hold On, earning for themselves an encore, despite the time restrictions for each performance, due to the packed programme.

Carlene Davis, Papa San, Radical Prodigal, Jabez and DJ Nicholas brought the authentic Jamaican flavour to the show with memorable stints, while DJ Troy and Marsha Daniels were among the up-and-coming local acts that also gave good account of themselves.

It was, however, Tye Tribbett's introduction to the stage that took the event to another level, as the ever-popular founder of the Grammy-nominated and Stellar-Award winning gospel group Tye Tribbett and GA (God's anointed) known for songs like I Need You, Chasing After You and Still Have Joy, had the entire Dump Up Beach singing and dancing along.

Billboard gospel-chart topper Martha Munizzi's performance was well received, but it seemed the biggest reception was left for the husband-and-wife pair of David and Tamela Mann.

stellar husband-wife team

David, a stage actor and gospel singer who has starred in many Tyler Perry plays and movies, including I Can Do Bad All By Myself, Madea's Family Reunion, Madea's Class Reunion and What's Done in the Dark, and has stood out, more so, in his role as Mr Brown in Perry's movies Meet the Browns and Madea Goes to Jail, had the crowd in stitches and even dared two patrons to a dance off, before calling out his wife Tamela. She showed that she was among the most in-demand female gospel vocalists in the world, with her song Joy of the Lord.

The audience was left begging for more from Grammy Award-winning singer Hezekiah Walker, who was in his elements while delivering Sold Out, while Bishop Paul Morton delivered arguably the performance of the night, with some of his more popular hits such as Let It Rain, Your Tears, High Praise, True Crimes and Come To Me.

Hip-hop gospel artiste Lecrae came and declared that God is in the House, before multi-Grammy Award winner Donnie McClurkin came and took the place apart with a string of hits including Behold He Comes, Stand, We Fall Down, Great is Your Mercy, and Speak to my Heart, as the appreciative gathering sang along.

Cruise with a Cause is an annual Christian event which sees participants travelling to various parts of the world to vacation and also take part in ministry activities. Prior to the concert in Montego Bay, the over 3,000 passengers from the Carnival Destiny cruise ship participated in several community outreach projects in schools, communities and correctional institutions across the island.

The cruise left Jamaica on Thursday for Haiti, where it will also seek to minister to the needs of the occupants of that disaster-ravaged country.