The Tribune

By RIEL MAJOR

PARADISE Productions officials said yesterday other artists who have not yet been announced will be added to the Buju Banton Long Walk to Freedom Tour.

Officials said promoters are in talks with “surprise guest artists” who may appeal to an older demographic.

Some fans of Buju Banton have complained on social media about the line-up - which includes international acts such as Kodak Black and Lil Duval - expressing disappointment that other classic reggae performers were not selected.

At a press conference at Breezes resort, Perez Rolle, a Paradise Productions executive, said the intention behind the selection of artists from different genres was to mimic a music festival.

He said: “We would select a particular artist from a genre that we think would appeal to the masses more and so reasoning behind selecting the artist we did chose was to reach a wider demographic. I know Buju himself appeals to the older demographic so, for example, Kodak Black will appeal to the younger demographic. the 16 to 24 age bracket and we want this event to be all-encompassing.

“We don’t want to exclude any age bracket, any group. We want there to an environment where people can come and have different experiences at one venue so that was the intention behind it.”

He added: “There are other few artists who we are presently in conversations with and other surprise guest artists who we have yet (to announce) who we think people will be more excited to see who those persons are, especially the older demographic. They’ll be excited once we release that this coming week.”

When asked about negative feedback regarding the concert’s line up, Mr Rolle said he doesn’t think different artist of different genres detracts from the experience at all.

Mr Rolle said: “It is no different from you going to a festival, say for example a Coachella there are different set times so all of this information will be released prior. There are different set times and so (know) you exactly when your artist will be performing and there are different things going on at the venue that perhaps you can engage in that can occupy your time and interest while another artist you may not be favourable of who is performing.

“For every negative response, we’ve gotten an equally positive response to match that so again the interest is overwhelming. We have a lot of local artists on the ticket, so we have Willis and the Illest, Jah Hem, and some local rappers. We have definitely considered and incorporated our local Bahamian artist.”

Mr Rolle also said ticket sales so far for the March 30 concert have been overwhelming, with some fans planning to travel from Asia to attend.

Mr Rolle said: “Presently we are continuing to run the early bird special just because we want to get that wider demographic and audience. We don’t want the price point to get too (high) for the younger demographic because we know that can be an issue. As far as numbers, tickets are selling pretty well for the most part, we have gotten overwhelming ticket purchases from the US.

“We have persons coming from as far as China and Japan. The international crowd is definitely into it, they have definitely bought into the idea. The local crowd is picking up and progressing very well.”

Security will be provided by the Falcon Security/Damas Group in conjunction with the police, with the promoter promising safety and quality production will be a “priority”.

Super Club Breezes and Western Air are providing special rates for the concert.

Tickets can be purchased at all Cash and Go locations, Rev, Aliv stores excluding the Harbour Bay location, Porky’s Gas Station and Balfour Consumer Meat Mart. Tickets can be purchased in Freeport at Gizmos and Gadgets and in Abaco at Island Girl Boutique.

Early bird tickets are still on sale. These prices are currently: general admission - $65; VIP - $125; platinum - $200; and all-access - $350.

Tickets and further information can be found at www.paradiseproductionsinc.com.