Quickies: Rebel, Ifrica in South Africa

Reggae stars Tony Rebel and Queen Ifrica are in South Africa to participate in the 19th staging of the acclaimed Johannesburg Arts Alive International Festival, which runs from September 21-26. The visit, organised by the Jamaican High Commission in South Africa in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth Sports and Culture, is part of the Government of Jamaica's efforts to promote Jamaican culture in South Africa, thereby creating new platforms for Jamaican artistes as well as strengthening cultural relations with South Africa.

Arts Alive is an annual festival of music, drama, theatre and performance poetry featuring more than 600 artistes, turning the suburb of Newtown, where it is staged, into a cultural village. The festival features big name artistes and young South African talent and is designed to take the arts to the people.

Tony Rebel and Queen Ifrica performed on the Reggae Night Show in Johannesburg last night and will be on the Eldos Jazz Festival in Soweto on September 25. Their performance is made possible by the generous support of the City of Johannesburg and the African Storm Sound System. They will also travel to Botswana for a concert on September 30.

Hapilos moves on to festivals

The weekly parties in Jamaica hosted by Hapilos Entertainment are coming to an end. The New York City, USA-based company announced that it is switching gears and concentrating on bigger productions, such as the recently held music festival 'Lakefest, the Greatfest' in Colchester CT, USA.

The company states that since they began operations in Jamaica, their main focus has been brand exposure. They became heavily involved in the vibrant dancehall and party scene of Jamaica as this was where the movers and shakers of the dancehall industry, major corporate sponsors of the Jamaican music industry and patrons gathered on a daily basis, and it was out of this that the company's signature events 'Happy Thursdayz' and, more recently, 'Portmore Fridayz' were born.

"I am very confident and proud to report that the strategy was successful, as Hapilos Entertainment Group is now entrenched in the music/entertainment industry in Jamaica," states Peter Sims, the company's general manager. "It's time to move on to what we really do."

Hapilos Entertainment Group Inc is currently in the planning and development stages of a major annual concert in Jamaica. This event will have an international twist. "It's going to be about quality, it's going to be huge," Sims states. In the immediate future, however, the international company, along with PaperWorks Entertainment, is bringing Mavado, Flexxx and the Gully Squad with DJ Khaled and We The Best Music Group to Los Angeles, California, on November 4, and then comes back to Jamaica with multimedia host Diva Nikki Z for 'Beach Sexy - Diva's Revenge' on December 3.

Concerts in Belize and St Vincent are on the horizon and there will be an extension of the brand to Hapilos Junior and Hapilos Teens for the younger entertainment fans.

Pianist plays for school's fund-raiser

Dr Kaestner Robertson has achieved international repute as a pianist and organist and given many solo recitals in the United States, Canada, France, England, Puerto Rico, Barbados, Trinidad, Bermuda and The Bahamas. Currently, he serves as Chair of the Music Department at the Atlantic Union College in Massachusetts, USA.

The proud Jamaican and School of Music alumnus makes a grand return home on Sunday to support his alma mater in the highly anticipated fund-raising event dubbed the Dr Kaestner Robertson Piano Recital. The doors of the School of Music Auditorium will be opened to the public at 5 p.m. and the entry fee is $1,500.

Robertson has taught at the Jamaica School of Music and was also Chair of the Piano Department and the Division of Western Music. He was awarded a Jamaican Government Scholarship to Boston University, where he studied the piano with Hungarian Bela Nagy and the organ with Dr Max Miller, and now holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from that institution.

He is the recipient of many awards, including prizes for piano performances, theory of music and summer study at the Tanglewood Summer Institute. The School of Music is pleased to host Robertson under its 50th anniversary umbrella of events.

Hobbit worries

Evangeline Lilly is worried fans will see her as a "black mark" in The Hobbit. The former Lost actress plays elf character Tauriel - who has been created for the film and is not a part of the original book by J.R.R. Tolkien - and is worried about how diehard fans will react to the role.

She said: "I am very concerned to this day that people will watch it and I'll be the black mark on the film. I know how adamant the purists are and I'm one of them!" She does, however, feel that director Peter Jackson is right to add her part to the movie - a two-part prequel to Lord of the Rings - and assures that all the additional characters he has added stay true to the ideals created by Tolkien.

Lilly added: "Upon reading The Hobbit again, as an adult, I can see why additional characters were needed to round out the story as an adaptation - especially female characters. The Hobbit didn't include female characters at all. What they have done is all in perfect keeping with Tolkien's world, while adding a third dimension to an otherwise very two-dimensional story."

The first film, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, will be in cinemas this December.

Kingston, Zuma musical babies

Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale's children are following in their musical footsteps. The couple - who have two sons, Kingston, five, and Zuma, three - found their offspring have inherited their musical talents, with Kingston enjoying playing the drums and Zuma "jamming" with his Bush rocker dad on the guitar.

Gavin said: "Kingston still likes the drums, but he's into everything now. He's always busy doing things. We're just trying to give them lots of opportunities. Zuma is really into the guitar. If I'm playing he'll come and jam with me - he'll sit with me and it's really fun. He moves his hands up and down. His positioning and charisma are amazing. He's so relaxed, looks great and he's three!"

The 45-year-old star has also revealed his sons have had an influence on his own music, with him recording an album at Kingston Sound Studios and releasing an imprint of Bush's The Sea of Memories on Zuma Rock Records. Gavin explained to People Magazine: "I wasn't really sure about it and I asked around my house, 'Is that weird?' And it was like, 'No, that's cool, do it.' I couldn't do anything involving them without making a joint decision. I've learned some things and that's one of them!"

Vegas does Georgetown for Guinness

Jamaican dancehall star Clifford 'Mr Vegas' Smith is set to be the headline act at the Arthur's Day Live concert slated for the GNS Grounds in Georgetown, Guyana, tonight. The versatile singjay will entertain the Guyanese fans with his slew of dancehall hits, among them Heads High, Hot Wuk and Tek Whe U Self.

Sharing the stage with Mr Vegas will be Guyana's Natural Black, as well as the Mingles Sound Machine Band.

The concert is part of a global celebration recog-nising September 22 as Arthur's Day. Arthur's Day is a series of music events which was first organised in 2009 to celebrate the 250-year legacy of the exemplary visionary Arthur Guinness, founder of the Guinness brewing company.

Vegas' thought-provoking single Certain Law on the recently released Barbwire Riddim has been getting a lot of airplay as well as spins at the street dances all over Jamaica.