Sumfest kicks off with rocking beach party

Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer

WESTERN BUREAU:

Partying like rock stars, patrons whetted their musical appetites and 'Pre'd' a scrumptious main course at the Reggae Sumfest 2K11 beach party, Sunday at the Aqua Sol Theme Park, Montego Bay.

There were no live performances, but none was needed as Renaissance's Delano, Dre Day, Christuff and Sniper stamped their approval on the rebirth of the annual beach event, signalling the genesis of 2011's instalment of 'the world's greatest reggae festival'.

The fearless foursome, juggled amidst the likes of Stone Love's Billy Slaughter and Diamond, ZIP FM's ZJ Ice and FAME's DJ Nicco.

Pleasing the crowed

With a 45-minute set and an intimate crowd hungry for music, Renaissance fed their needs. Opening with foundation tunes, paying close attention to hip hop, dancehall and reggae, the Kingston-based sound system operator had the women captivated, while the men served as their slaves.

Kartel, Mavado, Bounty Killer and dancehall's newest sensation Nobody Canna Cross It Cliff Twang ruled supreme throughout the set.

Platinum performance

When Stone Love's Billy Slaughter and Diamond touched the turntable their performance was solid platinum. After 39 years in the business, Stone Love has mastered the art of entertainment. When they pulled for Black Eyed Peas's I've gotta Feeling, they were certainly giving patrons a premonition of the musical prowess they were about to display. They ensured Sunday night was a good night.

With Rihanna's Only Girl in the World, and Lady Gaga's Bad Romance they had the 'sumfesters' joining in chorus, before showcasing versatility as they pulled material from various genres including funk, techno and calypso.

DJ Nicco received a Montego Bay welcome when he graced the stage, having spun for years at Margaritaville. He valiantly took up the baton and juggled, continuing the lyrical onslaught his predecessors had begun.

Kicking off a real party vibe, his selections brought out the dance instructors at the beach event.

Between the 'Sweep', 'No Lingah', 'Higher Level', 'Signal Di Plane', 'Tek Weh You Self' and 'Crazy Hype', DJ Nicco had sand kicking from side to side.

ZJ Ice brought a lot of heat to the session, melting an evening that Summerfest Production's Junior Taylor described as the dance with a twist on the beach.

"We opted for a friendly juggling vibe and not the clash type dance setting of the past," he told The Gleaner.

According to him, the organisation ventured from live performances and having seen the support by the patrons and sponsors for the night, have agreed that the format produced a successful event.