Calgary warms to McGregors and Co

Organisers of the Calgary Reggae Festival in Canada say this year's show on August 20 was an overwhelming success.

The eighth staging of the event featured singer Freddie McGregor, his sons Stephen and Chino, Nadine Sutherland and veteran singer Tinga Stewart.

Leo Cripps, a Jamaican who has been part of the festival since it was first held, said over 4,000 fans including government officials attended the show.

"Everything was first-rate - the sound, light, production team. There was absolutely no noticeable flaws and how smoothly everything ran was mesmerising even to us," Cripps told The Gleaner.

Older acts like Beres Hammond, Maxi Priest and Sugar Minott performed at previous Calgary Reggae Festivals. For this year's show, promoters were looking to pull a younger demographic, hence the appearance of the McGregor brothers, two of the hottest names in dancehall.

Cripps said the move worked.

"We have always been aware that we needed to reach the younger age group, so programming has always had that in mind," he explained.

"They were received incredibly well."

The Calgary show took place during a period of much reggae activity in Canada. The Toronto International Jamaica Day was held in July, while the Montreal Reggae Festival was also held this month.