The Tribune

By FARAH

Tribune Features Writer

jgibson@tribunemedia.net

WITH such a huge following in the Bahamas, organisers of the first Unity Fest expect that concert goers will be thoroughly entertained when the event featuring some of the hottest reggae/dancehall acts kicks off on Saturday.

The Unity Fest concert, at Bristol Wines & Spirits Grounds, will promote peace in the streets as artists like Da’ville, Romain Virgo and Alkaline perform some of their most popular hits during the event.

The event, presented by Black Ice Promotions, will be hosted by the Natural Empress, TG Movements and music will be provided by Sheldon Vbyz. The show begins at 7pm.

Andrew Downer, of Black Ice Promotions, said he and his team are working to present a world-class event.

“We decided to bring these three artists together because each of them bring a different flavour to the stage,” he said. “Romain Virgo is more of a culture type artist, Da’Ville is for the lovers and Alkaline is for the people who love dancehall music. So we are trying to cater to all types of people.

“This going to be a very special performance because someone like Romain Virgo is a very good artist and Alkaline is one of the hottest dancehall artists out of Jamaica and this is his first time performing in the Bahamas. But Da’Ville has been here before and the Bahamian people cannot get enough of him so we brought him back.

“The last time Da’Ville was here he went to Bimini.”

Based on the feedback so far, Mr Downer believes the event will surpass their expectation. “We have been getting a lot of feedback from people and it seems that they are very excited about the concert. We are hoping the show is a sold out one.

“We threw a concert in July and it was not as successful as we would have wanted because there were so many other concerts happening on the same night,” he told In Ya Ear.

What will also drive the interest of concert goers is that Unity Fest presents some of the hottest acts in reggae and dancehall music on one stage, all in one night.

Mr Downer said the concert is a special treat, given that the Bahamas has a huge reggae following. “Reggae music is a very powerful sound and even though Bahamian music is played in the clubs and on radio, Bahamians still relate very much to the reggae more than other types of music. People love reggae music for and I think this all stems from Bob Marley and what he was able to accomplish as a reggae artist.

“Anywhere you go in the world people can tell you who Bob Marley is and it is because of his music, reggae is so popular not only in the western world, but all around the globe,” he said.

During the event, the artists will talk about unity and keeping peace on the streets.

“The reason why we are hosting some of these events is because the youth are getting out of hand and we need to try get them back to where they are supposed to be,” Mr Downer said. “We are going to have the artists talking about the importance of unity and us coming together because we are all one people.”