Sumfest set for a grand finale

Adrian Frater, News Editor

WESTERN BUREAU:The curtains will come down on Reggae Sumfest 2012 tonight at the Catherine Hall Entertainment Centre in Montego Bay with R&B star R. Kelly headlining an all-star cast that will include reggae icon Bunny Wailer.

Tonight's appearance by R. Kelly will bring to an end a long wait by his fans, after a throat infection thwarted him from making the trip to Jamaica for a previous staging.

"He most definitely will be here. He has even done a television commercial for us, indicating that he plans to make up for the disappointment of last year," said Johnny Gourzong, executive director of Summerfest Productions, the organiser of the 20-year-old festival.

In addition to R. Kelly and Bunny Wailer, music lovers will also get a taste of reggae royalty from another headliner, Damian 'Junior Gong' Marley, who is the son of reggae's undisputed king, Bob Marley, and multiple Grammy awardee.

With the Jamaica 50 theme an integral part of this year's staging of the event, patrons are poised to get a special tribute courtesy of The Skatalites and The Wailers.

The Skatalites represent an early period of Jamaican music when people such as Don Drummond ruled the roost in terms of popularising Jamaican beats in all the major markets in Europe, North America, and the Caribbean.

The Wailers is the band that toured the world with Bob Marley during the 1970s when reggae music became a global force, thanks to Marley's Catch A Fire album for which the band was both the studio and touring band.

Tonight's show will also showcase the future of reggae music with up-and-coming stars such as Protoje, who collaborated with Kymani Marley on Rasta Love, and his debut album, Seven Year Itch. He will also grace the stage for the first time with his own band, Indignation.

Singer Christopher Martin, who rose to fame through the televised 'Digicel Rising Stars' show, will also grace the stage.

The package of performances will also include former cabaret star and Montego Bay's son, A.J. Brown, who once held the enviable title of 'The Voice of Jamaica' when he performed on the casino circuit in Las Vegas.

Paula-Anne Porter-Jones and François St Juste will be the evening's emcees.