Stories by Stephanie Lyew

Zahra Warner was only eight when her father - Bajan theatre director and writer Earl Warner passed away but she remembers their primary relationship and grew up on the knowledge of his work in the Caribbean.The 27-year-old drama therapist says that...

Amid the sounds of car horns, reggae music blaring from nearby speakers inside Life Yard on Fleet Street, and the enthusiastic screams from children at a nearby school hinting at its dismissal, flute-maker and musician Andre France emits rich...

Imagine having to consume a meal of cream crackers and plantain, or rice, peas, and chicken - blended. That is the burden that master percussionist and songwriter Denver 'Feluke' Smith had to bear over the past six months.Feluke left Jamaica for...

Marching bands, which have been a source of community strength, face high maintenance costs. There are small fundraisers and inter-community competitions such as Battle of the Bands and, more recently, Clash of the Bands in St James, which offer...

For the 11 years that it has been in operation, every year Chilitos celebrates Cinco de Mayo, but this year will be bigger than ever.  Cinco de Mayo, which is Spanish for ‘Fifth of May’, is an annual celebration observed in...

Adjunct lecturer and reggae music aficionado, Alpha Obika, presented the challenge to the students enrolled in Producing Culture: Music, Events and Festivals at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, to plan and execute an event with meaning...

The Ministry of Tourism, has reported a 14.1 per cent increase in visitor arrivals to Jamaica in the first week of April, ahead of the carnival celebrations, in comparison to the same period last year. Tourism Minister, Edmund Bartlett,...

“It is a formula that has been working,” said veteran producer, Mikie Bennett when The Gleaner asked if doing a cover song makes for an effective promotional strategy or overshadows the talent of upcoming artistes. Often,...

"We are not the US$200 to US$1,200 carnival," said Julianne Lee, director of Jamaica Carnival.Regardless of preparations to participate as one of the four bands to take the streets of Kingston on April 8, Lee says a lack of funding has immobilised...

With the performing arts, music and theatre being the main medium for messages to be delivered, in recent times the Christian community has been crying out for the support of faith-based films.Christian playwrights and filmmakers like Cleveland O....

The demand for mento bands skyrocketed during the Christmas season, leaving the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) to conclude that there is still life in this style of Jamaican folk music that influenced ska and reggae."Mento was a...

Prior to rehearsals for tonight's Shaggy and Friends concert, entertainers Wyclef Jean, Sting and the man himself, Shaggy, took some time to tour the Bustamante Hospital for Children, leaving the international recording artistes, further in awe....